William “Bill” Charles Whitten Jr.
June 11, 1940 – January 13, 2022
William C. Whitten passed away after a short illness on January 13, 2022.
Bill was a Milwaukee native and knew where everything was in the city. Before MapQuest he would hand draw maps on backs of envelopes for his family to help them get to where they needed to go. He graduated from Rufus King High School in 1958. During school breaks, he worked at construction sites, including the Milwaukee Public Museum.
Bill graduated from Dartmouth College in 1962 with a major in Russian Civilization. While at Dartmouth he learned to downhill ski, worked at the campus radio station and earned his pilot’s license.
After Dartmouth, Bill entered the Peace Corps where he met Eleanor Roosevelt and served as a teacher for two years in a small village in Sierra Leone. After he completed his tour, he and friends traveled through Europe. Their adventures included being detained by police on separate occasions in East Germany and the Soviet Union.
Once back in the US, Bill graduated from UW-Madison’s Law School. While there, he worked for Legal Aid. After retiring from law, he worked as a night auditor at the Brown Deer Sheraton Four Points.
He married Edie, née Foster, in 1969. Bill is survived by his wife, son Greg, daughter Joy, her husband Jeff, grandson Aaron, and his sister Gayle Harbo of Alaska and her children. He was preceded in death by his parents William Sr and Juno.
Bill enjoyed playing tennis and chess, listening to music – anything from opera to Bob Dylan, Harry Chapin and Blondie; collecting stamps, learning world languages, researching family history, playing chess with the local Chess Nuts and eating frozen custard.
Bill was a gentle soul with a wide welcoming smile who impressed others with kindness, his calm demeanor and extensive knowledge of everything in general. He is greatly missed.
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