John Whittlesey 1918 - 2008

Old Lion

The lion is weary now.
His head sinks in the fur of his once mighty paws.
His mane is thin, his jaw is downy white.
Deep scars etch his brow
From the battles of his younger days.

In the summer of his life
The lion's back was strong,
No burden too heavy to bear.
His stride was quick and fierce
And when he charged
No one dared to stand before him.

He sat upon a hilltop in the sun,
His gaze commanding all within its sweep.
His pride gathered round him,
A shield against his enemies,
And he a stronger shield against theirs.

But now his mate of many years
Lies buried in the earth.
His pride has scattered.
And the lion sits alone on the hill.
No one bothers to challenge him now.
He has outlived all his rivals,
And the younger lions ignore him.

He sleeps away his days
And dreams away his nights,
And the little hill is all that remains of his kingdom,
Shrinking every day,
His own body become a prison
With locks and bars more unyielding
Than those of any cage.

Soon the lion will sleep his final sleep.
The African night that waits for us all
Will close around him
And all his lore and wisdom will vanish with him
And the wind will whisper through the grass on the hill
That marks his grave.

But we who stood beside the lion will not forget him.
We will miss him and mourn his passing,
For the same hot blood that ran through his veins
Runs through our own
And the same brave heart that thumped in his chest
Thumps in ours too,
As we seek our own hills glowing in the sun
And lands encompassed only by the limits of our vision.

Well done, we say, old lion. Well done.


Old Lion© Copyright 2008 by Charles Whittlesey


Obituary

John Sherman Whittlesey was born on August 16, 1918, in Fargo, North Dakota. He attended Central High School and graduated from Principia College near St. Louis, Missouri, in 1940. Upon the death of his father that same year, he moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, with his mother and supported her by working at Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing. When his mother passed away in 1942, he joined the United States Army Air Corp and served in World War II as an ordnance officer. He attained the rank of captain while serving in Panama, Ecuador, and the Galapagos Islands.

Following the war, he attended law school at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, on the GI bill. While living in Chicago, he met his future bride, Betty Klingberg, whom he married soon after taking his first law position in Kansas City, Missouri.

In 1951, John and Betty moved to Fargo, where he stayed for the remainder of his career. Initially he worked for the law firm of Burnett, Bergesen, Haakenstad & Conmy, which later became the firm of Whittlesey, Pancratz & Wold. During his law career, he served on and chaired numerous boards and civic committees, held a seat in the North Dakota State Legislature, served in the Air National Guard, and organized and trained a bagpipe band consisting mainly of Shriners and guardsmen. During this time, he also developed an interest in the budding health movement and took up running.

In 1966, after practicing law for 16 years, he was elected president and eventually chairman of the board of Gate City Savings & Loan. He served in that capacity until his retirement in 1981, but remained as chairman of the board for another 10 years. He retired from the Air Force Reserve at the rank of colonel.

He and Betty enjoyed 21 years of retirement together in their cottage on Big McDonald Lake near Vergas, Minnesota. There he took up woodcarving and bicycling and continued his lifelong passion of reading and listening to classical music.

John Whittlesey will be remembered by his friends and community as a man of integrity, ability, dignity, persistence, foresight, erudition, and eloquence—both in speech and in writing—a gift that he retained even during the final days of his life. No standard set for him by others exceeded the standards he set for himself.

His family will remember him for his honesty, his unflagging optimism, his constant support and guidance, his wisdom, his patience, his gentle manner, his lack of pretension, and his agile and broad mind, which he took constant joy in exercising.

John was preceded in death by his wife of 52 years, Betty K. Whittlesey, and is survived by his son Martin and daughter-in-law Suzi Whittlesey; his son Charles, daughter-in-law Nancy Whittlesey, and granddaughters Elizabeth and Claire Whittlesey; and his son Clay and daughter-in-law Judy Whittlesey.