HAVILAND – Duward Leon Whitney, 85, died Oct. 10, 2012 at the Pratt Regional Medical Center.
He was born November 28, 1926 in Long Beach, Calif., the son of Fay and Madgealeen (Woodward) Whitney.
A lifetime resident of Haviland, Duward was a farmer and was a Lapidarist, a gem and mineral collector, polisher and jewelry maker. He graduated from Haviland High School in 1945, and served in the U.S. Merchant Marines during World War II. He was a 50-year member of the Kiowa Masonic Lodge No. 293, The Gem and Mineral Society, and was a birthright member of the Haviland Friends Church.
On June 13, 1948, Duward married Viona Brown in Haviland. She survives.
Other survivors include two sons, Brad and wife Patricia Whitney, Blanchard, Okla.; Keith and wife Barbara Whitney, Fowler; two daughters, Marjorie Thompson and husband Steve, Haviland; and Janice Williams, Great Bend; two brothers, Willard and wife Beverly Whitney; Kenneth and wife Lora Lee Whitney, all of Haviland; 11 grandchildren, Brandon Thompson, Brady Thompson, Brooke Thompson, Bethany McGlothlin, Lisa James, Jared Disney, Brock Whitney, Regena Bryant, Alana Whitney, Jerae Rinehart, and Tyson Whitney, and 15 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by three grandchildren, Brett Lynne Thompson, Marla Disney, and Sarah Kate Whitney.
Funeral services and celebration of Duward’s life will be held 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Haviland United Methodist Church, Haviland, with Dr. Jerry Simmons and Pastor Mark Fillmore officiating. Burial with military honors will follow at the Haviland Cemetery. Visitation is scheduled from 5 to 7   p.m. Thursday at the Fleener Funeral Home, Greensburg.
Memorials are suggested to the Heart of America Science Resource Center, Haviland and the Haviland United Methodist Church, both in care of Fleener Funeral Home, 514, S. Main St., Greensburg, KS, 67054.

Funeral arrangements provided by
Fleener Funeral Home *
514 S. Main Street
Greensburg, KS, 67504
Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, Oct. 11, 2012