Arlene Yvonne (Davis) Whetsell, 85, of Kingwood, passed away peacefully at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital on March 10 in the presence of her family. She was born Sept. 10, 1937, in Albright, the daughter of the late Arlie Clarence and Hazel Burlene (Cale) Davis. She is survived by her brother, Wendell Davis (Doris), of Front Royal, Va. She was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, Charles R. “Bud” Whetsell, in 2020.
Arlene was raised in Beech Run and graduated Kingwood High School in 1955. She married Bud the month after her graduation. They lived in Terra Alta until they moved to Kingwood in 1964, where they lived and raised their family until her passing.
Arlene’s passion was kids, not just her kids, all of them. Besides raising her own three daughters, she was a mother to thousands of kids through her work as a kindergarten aide at Kingwood Elementary. To the day she died, her former students — now adults — would walk up to her and reminisce their “I remember when” stories.
Wherever Arlene went, she was a beacon of light and a bundle of joy. She was a Red Hat (including serving as queen mum), volunteered at Heartland/Stonerise, volunteered at the Preston County Buckwheat Festival, served as the Kingwood Citizen of the Year and, in her final years, was the unofficial greeter at Windy Hill Village, where she resided until her death.
Arlene’s legacy includes her three daughters, Denise, Debbie and Danita. Denise Harris resides in Kingwood and has one of her grandchildren, Shane McCarty, also in Kingwood. Debbie is married to Marc Halbritter, who resides in Hilton Head Island, S.C. and together have three of her grandchildren: Ashlee (Cory), Skyler (Mitch) and Alex (Aaron) and three of her great-grandchildren, Davis and Cooper (Ashlee/Cory) and Charlie (Skyler/Mitch). Danita Sharp resides in Alexandria, Va., where Arlene’s other two grandchildren, Dylan and Darby Sharp, also reside.
Friends may call at Kingwood Funeral Home, 295 South Price St., Kingwood, from 3-8 p.m. on Friday, March 17, and again from 10-11 a.m., the funeral hour, on Saturday, March 18, with the Rev. Jonathan Nettles officiating. Interment will follow at Maplewood Cemetery.
The family requests that memorial donations in Arlene’s honor may be made to one of the following: Kingwood Elementary School, c/o the Kindergarten Program, 207 South Price St., Kingwood, WV 26537 or Windy Hill Village, 17024 Veterans Memorial Highway, Kingwood, WV 26537.
Condolences:
www.kingwoodfuneralhomewv.com
