AL WHITESIDE

Al Whiteside

Al Whiteside passed away on Friday, April 20, 2007, at the Peaks Senior Living Community in Flagstaff, Arizona, at the age of 84.

Mr. Whiteside was born in Fort Scott to Mabel and William Whiteside and had eight brothers and sisters. His family ran the Whiteside Grocery Store. After attending Community College in Fort Scott, he moved to Washington, D.C. to work in the civil service.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942 and served during World War II in the Asiatic Pacific Theater, as an air radar officer. After returning from the war, he graduated from Kansas State University in Manhattan as an electrical engineer.

He met and married Virginia Lee Buster. They were married for 56 years and had two children.

Mr. Whiteside worked as an electrical engineer in Salina; Kansas City, Mo.; Tulsa, Okla.; and overseas in Tehran, Iran, establishing electrical schematics for various pipelines. He retired in Tulsa, Okla. after working for Butler-Culvem & Assoc., and the Williams Pipeline Company. He also retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserves.

He is survived by his son Tim Whiteside; daughter-in-law, Linda Larsen; granddaughters, Ashley and Kelsey of Flagstaff; daughter, Debi Berger and son-in-law, Larry Berger of Cortez, Colo.; his brothers, Ed Whiteside and wife, Nolene, of Fort Scott and Bill Whiteside and wife, Shirley of Connecticut; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife Virginia in 2003; brothers and sisters, Ralph Whiteside, Ava Webber, Mildred Seavers, LauraBelle Cress, Roy Whiteside and Ruth Whiteside; and his parents, Mabel and William Whiteside.

The Rev. Paul Babcock will conduct graveside services with military honors 1:30 p.m. Friday, April 27, 2007, at the Fort Scott National Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be sent to the Arizona Chapter American Parkinson's Disease Association (APDA), 2033 E. Speedway Blvd. #203, Tucson, AZ 85719. Local arrangements are under the direction of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home. Expressions of sympathy may be e-mailed to the family at expressions@konantz-cheney.com