Norman A. Wilhite

Norman A. Wilhite
September 26, 1929 - March 24, 2006
Sun City West, AZ formerly Keswick, IA
Memorial Service: 1:00 PM March 30, 2006 at Prince Of Peace Catholic Church, Sun City West, AZ
Graveside Service: 11:00 AM April 03, 2006 at Sorden Cemetery, Webster,IA
Interment: 11:00 AM April 03, 2006 at Sorden Cemetery, Webster,IA
Norman Albert Wilhite, who owned and ran the successful Wilhite International & Pontiac dealership in Keswick, Iowa, until he retired in 1988, died March 24 at Del E. Webb Memorial Hospital in Sun City West, Arizona. He was 78 and had lived in Arizona for most of the past 17 years. The cause of death was complications of a major heart attack suffered at his home two days earlier and from which he never regained consciousness. Burial services with military rites will be held near Keswick, IA on Monday, April 3, 11:00 a.m., at Sorden Cemetery. His funeral Mass was March 30 at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Sun City West. Known for his engaging sense of humor, Norman was born September 26, 1927, the second son of Clarence and Marguerite (Naylor) Wilhite. His mother died in 1931 when Norman was just four. He was raised by his stepmother Mildred (Gribbin), whom his father married in 1935. Following graduation from Keswick High School in 1946, Norman enlisted in the military and served in the U.S. Army of Occupation in Japan until his honorable discharge in 1948. After the service he returned to Keswick and went to work in his father's business, C. L. Wilhite Implement, a farm equipment, car and truck, and appliances dealership established in 1920. He adapted quickly to selling and liked it, and over the years he significantly expanded the business and increasingly took charge of running it. When his father died in 1977 he bought the company from his stepmother Mildred, who died in 1988, and his only brother Eugene, who died in 2003. Norman is survived by his wife of 54 years, Alice (Flynn) of Sun City West, and his son Tom of Los Angeles, California. When he married Alice he became a Catholic and his faith was always important to him. In both Iowa and Arizona he regularly participated in his parishes' charitable and community activities. Norman was an avid golfer, and in retirement he maintained a busy schedule of cards, Bocce, walking, and square-dancing. In recent years, Norman and his wife enjoyed playing "extras" in films produced by their son; in February, they went to L.A. for the first screening of "Marigold," a just-completed movie in which they "played" airplane passengers on a flight to India. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to St. Vincent de Paul, Phoenix, Az 85002, or Keswick First Responders, Keswick, IA 50136.. Messages and tributes may be left at www.powellfuneralhomes.com under obituaries.