Rodney Whitten

Rodney Dean Whitten was a blessed and beloved husband, father, son, grandfather, brother, and uncle. He was born to Diane Adair Small and biological father Ron Bennett on March 27, 1959 in Lebanon, OR. Diane Whitten (Small) and Norman Whitten, Rod’s adoptive father, raised him and his younger brother Roger Whitten throughout the years that followed, along with the incredible influence of their beloved “Grandma Ollie.”

Rod passed away peacefully on Thursday the 27th of June at the age of 65 years after a 2-year-long, hard-fought battle against cancer— his devoted wife and highschool sweetheart, Lily Whitten, by his side throughout. He passed quietly and without pain, surrounded by family, and holding the hands of loved ones at his daughter’s home in Oregon. Rod Whitten is survived by his wife Lily Whitten, his 5 adult children (Amber Reinhard, Chelsea Whitten, Jeanine Whitten, Christine Bowker, and Tim Whitten), his brother Roger Whitten, 13 grandchildren, father Norman Whitten, step-father Jerry Whitten, and many treasured cousins, nieces, and nephews. He was known for his avid love of fishing, photography, his deep concern for family, and his propensity to make friends everywhere he went.

After receiving an honorable discharge from the Army in 1977, Rod started building his own family. He was blessed with 4 daughters and one son whom he loved more than life itself. He spent the majority of his career in both public safety and long-haul truck driving. While he always enjoyed his work, his true love was being outside in nature, the sunshine, and on the water with the people closest to him, a fishing pole in one hand, and a camera in the other. Rod finally reunited with and married his highschool sweetheart at the age of 61 and during the years that followed, Rod and Lily retired to their new home in Mississippi, spending their days making up for the lost years in their own Southern oasis.

From the beginning until the very end, Rod was always the person who could be counted on to show up for his family in times of crisis and, up until his very last moments, he continued to be the person reminding us that “With a loving family, there is never anything so big or bad, that it can’t be fixed with time.”