Bentley H. “Ben” Whitsett passed away a few minutes past midnight March 8th at Wisteria Place in Abilene. He died of natural causes at the age of ninety-two. Funeral services will be held at 2:00pm Thursday March 11, 2010 at the Davis-Morris Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will take place at 9:00am Friday March 12, 2010 in Elmwood Memorial Park in Abilene.
He was born to Brent and Minnie Whitsett at Hickory, Oklahoma on December 28th 1917. He graduated from Springer High School in Springer, Oklahoma in 1936. He attended Oklahoma State University working at the Lazy S Ranch during the summers. He worked at J.C. Penney on Christmas holidays and part time at Safeway while attending Ardmore (Oklahoma) Business College. He also took radio and electronics correspondence courses.
In 1940 he began full time work with Safeway in Chickasha, Oklahoma where he met his future wife, Thelma “Lu” Hale. They were married that same year.
He worked eight years for Halliburton then opened a radio repair shop in Davis, Oklahoma from 1949 to 1951. He went to work for Amoco Petroleum in the Odessa, Texas area but continued to repair radios, televisions and other electronic equipment. He also began making cabinets and furniture on commission and became well-known as an excellent craftsman. He was reputed to be able to “fix anything.” He retired in 1979 and he and Lu moved to Brownwood in 1980.
Ben and Lu were members of the Fourth and Stewart Church of Christ in Brownwood.
He is survived by his wife, Lu, now living in Abilene, and two sons, Dwight Whitsett and wife, Brenda of Abilene, Kevin Whitsett and wife Debbie of Dallas, five grandchildren: Tim, Justin, Nathaniel and Paul Whitsett and Amy Hopkins and eight great grandchildren.