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Submitted: 1/18/24 • Approved: 1/18/24 • Last Updated: 1/21/24 • R1514996-G1514995-S3
Phil
February 14, 1939 - November 9, 2015
You may look at his picture and wonder if you know this man….and likely you do, or at least recognize him. He was known for getting on an elevator in a hospital or other building and ask you if you were going up? And then he would reply, "I am….ALL THE WAY UP." He was a man deeply concerned for his fellow man and woman and their relationship to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It wasn't a show, it was for real with him. Upon the necessity of caring for Dad we learned that he had a very long prayer list, many, many people were or have been on his list over his life time.
Brother Phil was called to the ministry as a young teen and began serving the Lord by leading music in his hometown of Muskogee, Oklahoma. He was formally trained at Tulsa University receiving his Bachelor's degree in Music Education. He served churches in that capacity throughout Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and Arkansas. He was called to the preaching ministry in 1975 and resigned from Grand Avenue Baptist Church as Minister of Music and Youth to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He received his Masters of Divinity and was called to the First Baptist Church of Muldrow, Oklahoma for his first pastorate. He served there from 1977 to 1983. Next he was called to Oak Cliff Baptist Church where he ministered as lead pastor from 1983, until his retirement in 2004. He continued to minister as an interim pastor throughout the area for many years until caring for mother became a full time job. He and mother made their home church First Baptist Church of Arkoma, Oklahoma and were able to attend there together for several months before the decline of their health.
Our dad James Phillip "Phil" Whitten, 76, passed away from this life in Methodist Health and Rehab on Monday, November 9, 2015 after a fight with Lewy Body Dementia.
He now resides in Heaven with his Heavenly Father and our mother, Merlene and many other relatives who have gone before him, including his mother and father, Jack and Gladys Whitten, his brother Jerry Whitten and many other loved ones.
Family visitation will be Friday, November 13, 2015 from 5-7pm at Edwards Funeral Home Chapel. Funeral Service will be 11:00 AM Saturday, November 14, 2015 at Grand Avenue Baptist Church. Burial will be at Roselawn Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Edwards Funeral Home.
Merlene
March 24, 1941 - July 31, 2013
Merlene Whitten, 72, went to be with her Lord on July 31, 2013, after a battle with cancer and a heart condition, at UAMS in Little Rock.
She was born March 24, 1941 in Stillwater, OK to Merle and Opal Jackson.
She married Phil Whitten on September 2, 1960 and as a faithful servant of God, she served alongside her pastor husband in ministry in various roles; as Children's Choir Coordinator, Children's Sunday School Director, Sunday School Teacher, Vacation Bible School Director, and any role she saw that needed to be filled. She loved the Lord, her family, and her church. Merlene was a homemaker and was a compassionate soul, never judgmental and always seeking to make others comfortable.
She is survived by her loving husband, Reverend Phil Whitten; her three adoring children, Sherry Goodrum and her husband John, of Fort Smith, Phyllis Poole and her husband Jimmy, of Van Buren, and Phil Whitten Jr. of Fort Smith; and three grandchildren, Breanne, Amelia, and Carlee Goodrum.
Funeral Service will be 1:00 P.M. Saturday, August 3, 2013, at Oak Cliff Baptist Church officiated by Reverend Cliff Palmer and Reverend Lyndel Hobbs, with burial in Roselawn Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Edwards Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be: Scott, Erik, and Mark Akers, Barry Whitten, Justin Douglas, and Billy Harris.
Honorary Pallbearers will be Deacons of Oak Cliff Baptist Church.
Photo courtesy of Frances Allen Titsworth
Contributed on 1/18/24 by Billsully060
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Record #: 1514996