Rose Marie Whitten

Rose M. Whitten
Rose Marie Whitten died on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at the age of 78, after a battle with cancer. Rose was born on July 13, 1931 in Norton, VA, but was raised in Lynchburg, VA by her parents, the late Daniel and Alma (Mahoney) McNerney. She attended Randolph Macon Women's College and earned a B.A. in Sociology. Upon graduation, she taught elementary school at several locations including Lynchburg, VA and the Washington D.C. area. She touched many young lives. She married Stanley Whitten on June 29, 1963 and moved to Silver Spring, MD in 1967. She loved music and was summoned to sing in a choir in 1968 for presidential hopeful, Robert F. Kennedy's, funeral train. In 1978, she relocated to Northbrook, IL and was the receptionist at the emergency room of Glenbrook Hospital. She retired in 1998 and began spending her winters in Fort Myers, FL. In 2008, she moved to Madison, WI.
Rose is survived by her husband of 46 years, Stanley; her sister Gloria McCarthy of Fort Myers, FL.; her four children, Cosmas (Thomas) Skaife of Madison, WI, Burt Whitten of Oak Forest, IL, Mary Whitten of Titusville, FL, and Lewis (Kelly) Whitten of Las Vegas, NV; and four grandchildren, Edward and Samuel Skaife, and Nicholas and Brandon Whitten.
She was preceded in death by her parents, and sister, Lillian Arce.
A Memorial Service will be held for Rose at 11:00 am on Saturday, November 21, 2009 at Cress Funeral Home. Family will greet friends beginning one hour prior to service.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any donations be made to St. Coletta's of Illinois Foundation for people with special needs, 18350 Crossing Dr., Tinley Park, IL 60487.