Ilene D. Whitney

Ilene D. Whitney, 96, of Center Point, entered her eternal rest on Monday, February 16, 2015, at St. Luke’s Hospital, surrounded by her loving family. Ilene Enabnit Whitney was born April 30, 1918, to Herman and Marie (Brechbuhl) Enabnit, on the family farm near Coggon, Iowa. The second eldest of 10 children, she attended the Boulder School near Prairieburg, completing the 9th grade in Coggon. At the age of 16, she was encouraged by her Mama to take a glass of cool water to the young neighbor boy out plowing the field, and later that year, she married that boy; the love of her life, Leonard Ammeter Whitney. They were married on December 20, 1934. To this union three children were born; L. Duane, Pamela, and Larry, and they raised their children on farms near Prairieburg and Center Point. In 1968, she and Leonard moved into Center Point where she began a career lasting more than 40 years, working for the Linn News-Letter, selling advertising and writing the social news, a position she held until shortly before her recent hospitalization. Following the death of her beloved husband in 1978, Ilene opened her home to countless numbers of renters from all over the country, becoming not only a friend, but a mother and grandmother figure to them all. Ilene was an amazing, one of a kind woman, who was never one to mince words; she told it like it was, or at least how she thought it should be. No one ever questioned where they stood with her, and most everyone appreciated her honesty and candor.

In her lifetime, she enjoyed dancing, country music, crocheting, refunding, crossword puzzles, playing cards, Grandma’s Club, Alert Homemaker’s Club, her kitty, Callie, and Fox News; but the greatest joy of her life was her family. Thanksgiving was the one holiday she looked forward to more than any other as all of her family made a special effort to be there, even when the family outgrew the space.

Left to cherish her memory are her children, Pamela (Steven) Doty of Fort Dodge, and Larry (Kimberly) Whitney of Park Ridge, IL; daughter-in-law, Marilyn Whitney of Winthrop; nine grandchildren, Lisa (Kent) Walton of Earlville, Tracey (Jeff) Bellach of Marion, Jackie (Roger) Post of Fayette, Chad (Marcia) Doty of Lakeville, MN, Wayland (Jennifer) Whitney of Marion, Jill Doty of San Antonio, TX, Lawrence Whitney of Park Ridge, IL, Patty Le of West Dundee, IL, and Michelle Le, of Chicago, IL; 11 great-grandchildren; four great-great-granddaughters; four sisters, Ida Pratt of Cedar Rapids, Margaret Scott of Cedar Rapids, Bertha Wenger of Richmond, TX, and Betty Ann Jordan of Cedar Rapids; two brothers, H. Mundy (JoAnne) Enabnit of Central City, and Gene (Lora Mae) Enabnit of Cedar Rapids; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Leonard; son, Duane; sisters, June Ahrensdorf, Nellie Ash, and Helen Whitney; brothers-in-law, Emery Jordan, A.D. Whitney, Elmer Wenger, Lyle Scott, Merle Pratt, Bernard Pratt, Ralph Ash, and LaVern Arensdorf.

The family will greet friends from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Thursday, February 19, 2015, at Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Center Point. Funeral Service: 10:30 a.m. Friday, February 20, 2015, at Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Center Point. Burial: 2:30 p.m. Prairieburg Cemetery, Prairieburg, Iowa.

A memorial fund has been established in Ilene’s memory.