Thomas Whitney

Thomas "Tom" Charles Whitney, age 51, of Virgil, IL, passed away suddenly Sunday afternoon, April 3, 2005, at Delnor Community Hospital following a sudden collapse at home where loving hands worked to give him life. In the end, it was Tom who gave "the Gift of Life" to others through organ donation.He was born February 3, 1954, at St. Charles, IL, the son of Charles M. and Ethel H. (Swanson) Whitney. The family lived in Geneva where Tom attended local schools and graduated from Geneva High School with the Class of 1972. As a boy, Tom was always interested in mechanics; his favorite toy was an erector set and in high school he could most often be found in the garage with his head "under the hood". Following high school, he wanted to work with his hands. He began as a maintenance man but found his real calling in heating and air conditioning work. For a number of years, Tom worked with his uncle, Charlie Capes at Capes & Son before becoming employed at Pheasant Run Resort as their heating and air conditioning specialist. Tom joined the Elburn Lions Club because he truly believed in the work that they did, especially as it related to vision. He gave in many capacities untold hours and energy to the club. It was during his term as president that the club purchased their first seeing-eye dog and received their charter to begin a Leo’s Chapter. In 2004, Tom was awarded the highest recognition of the Lions Club, the Melvin Jones Fellow. Known as a "1/2 order of biscuits and gravy and a large milk", Tom began dating Mary Brummel from a booth at the Kountry Kettle. They kept their romance a secret for a number of weeks until the autumn of 1999, when Tom popped the question and Mary said, "yes". Within six months of their first date, Tom and Mary were united in marriage on April 8, 2000, at the Community Congregational Church. They made their home in the apartment over the restaurant while they worked on the plans for their dream house. Tom wanted to do as much of the work as possible himself. Over the next eighteen months, their dream house was built and in 2004 they moved in to make it their home. On April 30, 2004, Tom and Mary were blessed with a miracle; her name is Hannah Mae. She brought to them the joy that made their life complete and the twinkle in Tom’s eye even brighter. Recently their joy became twofold as a new little miracle is anticipated in October. Tom loved life. He found great joy in building a home that would be a heritage for his children. He spent precious hours reading to his little girl. Though he enjoyed many hobbies, everything Tom did was for his family and it is that devotion that will be "his imprint" on their lives.Tom is survived by his wife, Mary and daughter, Hannah Mae; his sister, Carol (Mike) Zars of St. Charles, IL and their children, Keith and Stephanie; one aunt, Caroline (Charlie) Capes of Elburn, IL; his mother-in-law, Angie Lexa of Sycamore, IL and Mary’s large and loving extended family;lifelong friends, Steve (Beth) Zanis of St. Charles, and Rick (Milli) Schieve of Elburn, and a community of friends.He is preceded in death by his parents and his father-in-law, Zdenek "Dennis" Lexa.

His visitation will be held from 4-9pm on Thursday, April 7, 2005, at Community Congregational Church corner of Rt. 47 & Shannon St.., Elburn.His funeral service will be held at 2pm Friday afternoon, April 8th at the Community Congregational Church, Elburn with visitation from 11am to 1:30pm. The Rev. Katherine Lawes will officiate

Following cremation, private committal services will be held at a later date.Memorials gifts in Tom’s memory will benefit his family. Please make checks payable to the Tom Whitney Memorial Fund and mail them in care of P.O. Box 66, Elburn, IL 60119.