Terry Turner & Fay Whitney at her Mercer Island Home circa 2002

Fay Whitney died quietly at her home on Mercer Island on Easter morning, Sunday, March 27, 2005. She was 92. For many years, Mrs. Whitney was a mainstay of volunteer efforts on Mercer Island. She devoted countless hours working for the Mercer Island Thrift Shop, bookkeeping and cashiering at Senior Services events, and serving as a volunteer driver for seniors. She was chairwoman for the Mercer Island council on aging. She was cherished, not only for her management skills, but for making very special cookies for each meeting. She managed and for meals on wheels, worked in the garden club and helped with many other programs. Mrs. Whitney contributed literally thousands of hanging and potted plants to the annual Burgers and Blossoms fund raiser flowers all lovingly grown at home in her greenhouse, and across and under her deck. Mrs. Whitney was known for her propensity for action. If there was a task to be done, she simply got on with it and got it done quietly, deliberately and cheerfully. Appreciation of her efforts were punctuated and documented by being named King County RSVP Volunteer of the Year in 1999, and as a Mercer Island Citizen of the Year. She was grand marshal of the summer celebration parade, and was the recipient of other honors through the years. In addition to her volunteer work, Mrs. Whitney was an ardent ballroom dancer, bowler and enjoyed fishing, and picking, canning and sharing fruit. She was a dedicated Gardner seamstress and crafts maker. She often made costumes and decorations for many of her events. She enjoyed travel and outings and was a regular for many years on senior trips. Above all, Mrs. Whitney was a wonderful friend and neighbor to many. Mrs. Whitney lived on Mercer Island since 1956, when she and her husband Edwin (Sam) built a home, moving here from West Seattle. Mr. Whitney wan an engineer at The Bowing Co. He retired in 1964 and died in 1968. Mrs. Whitney worked at Continental Can Company until her retirement in 1978. After retirement, she continued to stay in close touch with many friends from the company. Mrs. Whitney was born on March 2, 1913, in New Mexico, one of five children of Connie and Cass Hester. She is survived by a brother, Adron (Bill) Hester, of Okanogan, and a sister Bonnie Ford, of Clovis, California; She also has many nieces, nephews, and their children.

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