Gordon Earl Whitemarsh
Gordon Earl Whitemarsh, 86, passed away on Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at his home in Prairie du Sac.
Gordon was born on December 28, 1925 in Omro, WI., the son of the late Ray and Cari (Libby) Whitemarsh.
He graduated from Omro High School in 1943. He answered the call to serve his country by enlisting in the U.S. Navy on November 29, 1943 at the age of seventeen. Following basic training at Great Lakes he was transferred to Camp Elliot and then Camp Pendleton for additional training as a medical corpsman assigned to the Marines. Dad noted that when they arrived at Camp Elliot the Marine Corps Band played “On Wisconsin”, which he said was not a bad start. He served in the Pacific Theatre arriving at Pearl Harbor on July 1, 1944. His service took him to Guam, Okinawa and China. At Okinawa he took part in the invasion of that island and remained there until it was declared secure. Like most who served, he did not share a lot of stories about the experience. He did relate one that reflected the gratitude felt by the front line Marines towards the medical corpsman. While on leave with a few of his corpsman buddies, they were at a bar when they got into a disagreement with a couple of Army guys who thought they should have their table. A couple of Marines saw what was going on and “escorted” those guys to the door and Dad and his friends never had to buy a beer the rest of the night.
After discharge from service in 1946, he married the love of his life, Betty Martin on February 21, 1948. Together, they raised six children;Broni (Mark) Maranger of Oregon,Dr. Darlyann Whitemarsh of Oshkosh,Dennis Whitemarsh of Princeton,Wayne (Pam) Whitemarsh of Sauk City,Brian (Mary) Whitemarsh of Hudson and Gordon (Marie) Whitemarsh of Wisconsin Rapids,
He is survived by his wife, Betty, six children, twenty-two grandchiidren and five great-grandchildren.
Preceding him in death are his parents, three brothers; Floyd, Reed and Fredrick. In 1960,
Gordon started in the real estate business with United Farm Agency in Westfield. In 1969 he formed his own company, Whitemarsh Realty in Portage. He was active in the business until his retirement in 1995. Gordon was an ardent republican and a big fan of Fox News. A proud veteran, he was fortunate enough to travel on the Badger Honor Flight last fall to the WWII Memorial in Washington D.C. It was a moving experience for him. His kind, gentle, soft-spoken manner will be greatly missed. He leaves a lasting legacy to his family of living a God filled life, one of integrity and caring.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, May 5, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Aloysius Catholic Church, Sauk City with Fr. Jared Hood officiating.
Military honors will be performed after mass by Sauk Prairie V.F.W. Post # 7694. Friends may call at Hooverson Funeral Home from 9:30 a.m. Saturday until 10:45.
