Frances Whitney

Frances (Wierenga) Whitney died peacefully on March 22, 2015 at age 105. She was the only surviving child of the Lennox pioneer Wierenga family. Frances was born in Lennox, SD on December 16, 1909. She had been living in the Bethany Assisted Living Center for the past 2 ½ years until recently moving into the Bethany Home, Brandon. Frances was one of the seven daughters and five sons of Mell and Heinke (DeBuhr) Wierenga. The Wierenga's were prominent Lennox area residents from about the time of the establishment of the town, until recently. The boys (Pete, Harm, Henry and Warren) were farmers, tradesmen and businessmen throughout the first half of the last century. The girls (Maggie, Sena, Carrie, Belle, Grace, Frances and Melvina) lived for many years in Lennox. Mell Wieringa was born in Germany and came to America as an infant with his parents Peter and Grietje who homesteaded in the Long Creek area south of Lennox. Four of their children died in the "school blizzard" of 1888. Frances was a 1927 graduate of Lennox High School and very likely the oldest living graduate. She played as a forward in basketball for LHS under the women's old basketball rules, and remembered being in the class play "Anastasia". She married Chester Whitney and they had three children, Mavis, Bryan "Chet" and Carey, all of whom attended school in Lennox after living for a time in Canton. Children, Mavis Davlin and Carey Thompson both reside in Chino Valley, Arizona with their spouses and Bryan "Chet" Whitney lives in Sioux Falls with his wife Delores (Mattheis). In 1951 Frances and Chester moved to Loveland, Colorado. Chet was a cattle feed supplement dealer and a Captain in the Sheriff's Mounted Patrol. He died in 1998. Frances continued to live in the home they built in 1951 and enjoyed remarkably good health until her final days. She enjoyed reading, knitting and crocheting, having made hundreds of caps and other items for babies born in the hospital. She is survived by her children, numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. Private family burial will occur in the Lennox Cemetery. A family directed memorial service will also be held at a later date.

Frances Whitney

December 16, 1909 - March 22, 2015

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