Obituary of Robert-Earl Whittaker

TUSCALOOSA Robert Earl Whittaker, age 83, of Gary, Indiana, died Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010, at Hospice of West Alabama. Services will be 11:00 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010, at Daystar Family Church with Pastor Scott Schatzline officiating and Van Hoose & Steele Funeral Home directing. Burial will follow in Tuscaloosa Memorial Park. Visitation will be today from 10 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home. The body will lie in state one hour prior to services at the church.Mr. Whittaker was born in Gary, Indiana and graduated from Roosevelt High School. He served three years in the U.S. Armed Forces in World War II. He worked in the U.S. Steel Mill, the Gary Public School System, and retired from the U.S. Postal Service.He lived most of his years in Gary, Indiana and moved to Tuscaloosa in May, 2002 to be near his daughter.He was preceded in death by his parents, Jack and Julia Whittaker; his brothers, Jack Jr., Willie, James, and Orville Whittaker; three sisters, Ethel, Mabel, and Jacqueline; and his son, Pastor Robert Darrell Whittaker (Sandy).Survivors include his loving wife of 62 years, Edith Whittaker of Tuscaloosa; a devoted daughter, Dr. Sharon E. Whittaker-Davis (Frank) of Tuscaloosa; a sister, Gwendolyn Anthony of Gary, Indiana; four grandchildren, Corey, Quentin, Steven, and Rachelle Sutterfield (Thomas) of Washington, D.C.; nine great-grandchildren, “adopted” children, as well as a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.