John Arthur Whitney

July 19, 1951 - October 21, 2020

John Arthur Whitney, 69, of St. Albans, passed away, Wednesday, October 21, 2020 after a long-term battle with COPD and a short but hard fight with cancer. He is preceded in death by his loving wife of 49 years, Frances C. “Cheryl” Whitney, son, John A. Whitney, Jr.; father, James Woodrow Whitney; and mother, Leona “Penny” Whitney (Asbury). He is survived by his son, James E. Whitney (Sarah) and grand-dog, Zena; sister, Elizabeth Pritt (Gary); brother, James I. Whitney (Anna Mae) several loving nieces, nephews and friends. John was a dedicated husband and father to his family; sometimes working three jobs to make ends meet and never missed an opportunity to attend the boys’ football games, track meets and science fairs. He was the best dad, father-in-law, uncle and friend to have. A simple man, always there to offer advice, you may not always like what he had to say, but he would never steer you in the wrong way direction. He loved to joke and tease and make people laugh. It was his way to ease the tension in a room and truly one of his best traits. He was always ready to lend a hand, needing every tool in the garage because, “you just don’t know what you might need”. As friends and family say, “his smile and swagger were amazing”; the twinkle in his eyes will forever be my favorite memory”. “He was a person that you met and knew from that moment you would love him forever”, and the best nickname he ever had was “John Gotti”. Not a man of many hobbies, however he did like to enjoy a cruise in his corvette and sit back and enjoy some reruns of Star Trek and old Westerns. If you ever ordered a pizza from Pizza Hut and didn’t get it, there’s a good chance he took your order from the kitchen table. He was also dedicated to Park Corporation for 40 plus years, wearing many hats. Never afraid to get his hands dirty, whether it was working the roofs, painting the cranes and building, renovating an entire facility, traveling to other sites or managing from behind the desk. Whatever it took to get the job done. He had a business sense that just came naturally and took great pride in all he did. There are many words to describe him, witty, sincere, caring, loving, honest, generous, kind, humble, proud, wise, but most of all, he was just an amazing, one of a kind man to know and love and he will be missed beyond measure. Funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Monday, October 26, 2020 at Bartlett-Nichols Funeral Home, St. Albans with Pastor James Dennis officiating. Burial will be in Tyler Mountain Memory Gardens, Cross Lanes The family will receive friends from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. prior to the funeral service at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to either Kanawha Hospice at 1606 Kanawha Boulevard West, Charleston WV 25387 or Cleveland Clinic/Philanthropy Institute PO Box 931517 Cleveland OH 44193-1655. You may visit John’s tribute page at BartlettNicholsFuneralHome.com to share memories or condolences with the family. Bartlett-Nichols Funeral Home, family owned and located at 409 Sixth Ave., St. Albans is honored to serve the Whitney family.