Travis Whitaker, 87, passed away Saturday, May 28, 2005, in Nacogdoches, Texas. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 30, 2005 at the Cason Monk-Metcalf Sunset Chapel with Randy Harshbarger of Stallings Drive Church of Christ officiating. Burial will follow at Redland Cemetery in Lilbert, Texas. Mr. Whitaker was born January 20, 1918 to John Norvel Whitaker and Meneola Nelson. He was the second of nine children and the last surviving sibling. Travis served our country in the Navy during WWII. He served eighteen months on a South Pacific island at command headquarters where he received and sent coded messages for all the South Pacific area. After the war, Travis entered college at Stephen F. Austin and began working as a student employee. He completed his Bachelor and Master's degrees. Before completing his Master's degree he was employed full time as an accountant and then became an auditor. He retired as business manager in 1980. He was a lifetime member of the SFA alumni association. He is preceded in death by his eight siblings. Survivors include his wife, Auline Cornelius Whitaker of Nacogdoches, Texas; sons, Travis Roy Whitaker and wife Sandra of Mont Belvieu, Texas and Charles Whitaker and wife Peggy of Tyler, Texas; daughters, Ann Holdsworth and husband Robert of Sugar Land, Texas and Jan Fisseler and husband Gene of Houston, Texas; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Memorial donations in his honor may be made to the Whitaker Scholarship Fund at SFASU, P.O. Box 6096, SFA Station, Nacogdoches, Texas 75962-6096 or the Stallings Drive Church of Christ Building Fund, 3831 NE Stallings Drive, Nacogdoches, Texas 75964. Visitation will be held Sunday from 5 until 7 p.m. Arrangements are under the direction of Cason Monk-Metcalf Funeral Directors.
The Daily Sentinel Sunday, May 29, 2005