Robert "Bob" Whitworth

Published in the adn.com from 8/24/2008 - 8/25/2008

Sterling resident Robert Whitworth, 72, died Aug. 4, 2008, at his winter home in Goodyear, Ariz., of metastatic liver cancer, diagnosed just one month earlier.

A celebration of life will be at 6 p.m. Sept. 4 in the Kenai Room at ChangePoint Church in Anchorage. All who knew Bob are invited to share a thought or treasured memory. The Rev. Dan Jarrell will officiate. A reception will be afterward.

Bob was born July 7, 1936, in San Diego to Gerald and Meretta Whitworth. He graduated from San Diego High School in 1954.

Bob met Dolores Benson, the love of his life, and they were married on Feb. 19, 1960.

Bob had a lifelong passion for baseball. His first day out of high school, he began playing professional ball for a "farm club" of the Cleveland Indians. He later played for the U.S. Marine Corps and the Kansas City A's.

After the 1960 baseball season ended, he got a temporary job at a Longs Drugs store, which lasted 35 years to the day. He began as a photo department clerk in San Diego and was later transferred to several Northern California stores as a manager.
In 1977, he moved his family to Anchorage to open a Longs store and ultimately became the area manager for Alaska. He retired on Aug. 31, 1995.

After his retirement, Bob and his wife spent summers at their home on the Kenai River in Sterling and winters at their Pebble Creek golf resort residence in Goodyear.

While living in Anchorage, Bob coached Service High School baseball. Until his death, he worked part-time as a scout for the Houston Astros. Bob also enjoyed golfing and fishing and served as a consultant to several manufacturers of fishing rods and reels.
He is survived by his dedicated wife, Dolores; son and daughter-in-law, Tim and Kelly Whitworth of Anchorage; daughter and son-in-law, Lynnette and Eric Boyer, and their sons, Birch, Caden and Blaise, of Anchorage; brothers and sisters-in-law, Gail and Florence Whitworth of Dillon, Mont., and Jerry and Carol Whitworth of Mission Viejo, Calif.; stepmother, Pat Whitworth and her family of Gore, Okla.; and numerous nieces and nephews.

For more information and photos, visit www.bobwhitworth.com.