F. Whittier Obituary

F. Weston ‘Wes’ Whittier, 83, of George Street, Attleboro, MA, formerly of Newton, MA and Haddonfield, NJ, a former aerospace engineer, died Wednesday, July 6, 2005 at the Ridgewood Court Nursing Home in Attleboro. He was the beloved husband of the late Helen G. (Golden) Whittier.

Born in Boston on February 18, 1922, Mr. Whittier was a son of the late Warren Faxon Whittier and Katherine Cushing (Boshart) Whittier.

Mr. Whittier was raised in Lebanon, PA and at the age of ten the family moved to Douglasville, PA. He was home schooled until high school. He then attended boarding school at the Hill School in Pottstown, PA. In 1944, Mr. Whittier earned a bachelor of science in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University. He was enrolled in the ROTC at Cornell University and upon graduation Mr. Whittier entered the U.S. Army. He served as a Technician 4th Grade of the Ordnance Detachment Department Frankford Arsenal during W.W.II. During his service in the army he designed a method to attach machine guns to jeeps, greatly improving the effectiveness of jeeps in warfare. Following his honorable discharge from the U.S. Army, Mr. Whittier earned a masters of science in Engineering from Lehigh University.

Mr. Whittier was employed initially at the Franklin Institute Labs in Philadelphia, PA. Later he was employed at R.C.A. in Camden, NJ in 1956 and retired as an aerospace engineer from R.C.A. in Burlington, MA in 1982. During his lengthy career at R.C.A., highlights of Mr. Whittier’s career was working on the LEM Project, the Lunar Module Project, and the Soyez Space Module docking systems.

A resident of Attleboro the past decade, Mr. Whittier formerly resided twenty years in Newton, MA and earlier resided in Haddonfield, NJ. He enjoyed gardening and reading.

Mr. Whittier is survived by a son: Bruce Whittier in Maryland; two daughters: Ann Kane of Wallingford, PA and Blair Shepard of Santa Fe, New Mexico; two step-daughters: Amy Ritzhaupt-Marcus of Dedham and Deborah McGourty of Levittown, PA; six grandchildren: Katharine Knapp, Michael McGourty, Martin Whittier and Willis Whittier, J. Andrew Shepard and Alexis Shepard; and two great-grandchildren: Vincent Romano and Molly Danemark.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a graveside service on Monday, July 11, 2005 at 11 A.M. in Milton Cemetery, 211 Centre St., Milton followed by burial with full military honors. At the request of the family, visiting hours are respectively omitted. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in his memory may be made to: Vista Care-Hospice, 690 Canton St., Westwood, MA 02090 and/or The Alzheimer’s Association, 36 Cameron Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Duffy-Poule Funeral Home, 20 Peck Street, Attleboro. Family and friends are invited to view and sign Mr. Whittier’s on-line guest book and additional information may be found at: www.duffy-poule.com.