Elizabeth Graham (Getaz) Whitener

Elizabeth Graham Getaz Whitener “Ibby” of Davidson and formerly Winston-Salem, North Carolina died peacefully on March 12, 2020. Ibby was born on June 23, 1933 in Greenville, South Carolina, the daughter of the late David Getaz and Elizabeth Graham Getaz.

Ibby attended Converse College and graduated cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Duke University in 1955. She taught at Reynolds High School 1955-1956 and then married the love of her life, Dr. Donald Leonard Whitener on July 28, 1955. Ibby and Don were active members of Highland Presbyterian Church for 43 years while living in Winston-Salem. Ibby served as a circle chairman, moderator of Presbyterian women and as an elder. Don and Ibby then joined Davidson College Presbyterian Church when they moved to the Pines at Davidson. She was a member of Flower Lore Garden Club.

Stemming from her love for birds and the natural world, Ibby supported numerous local, state and national environmental and conservation causes. In particular, Ibby was a member of the task force that formed the Davidson Lands Conservancy. Ibby and Don along with Don’s brother and sister-in-law, Sterling and Barbara Whitener, donated a conservation easement along family property for the Middle Fork Greenway, connecting Blowing Rock to Boone, North Carolina.

Ibby is survived by her daughter, Elizabeth Whitener Goode and her husband Carl Grotnes Belk; her granddaughter, Mary Ellen Goode and her husband Matthew Benjamin Spangler; and her grandson, Edward Seddon Goode, Jr., along with two step-grandchildren, David Irwin Belk and Patricia Anne Belk She was preceded in death by her husband of 50 years, her daughter, Ellen Marie Whitener, Phd of Charlottesville, Virginia, and her son-in-law, Edward Seddon Goode.

A private memorial service will be held at the memorial gardens at Highland Presbyterian Church. Memorials may be sent to Davidson Lands Conservancy, PO Box 1952, Davidson, North Carolina 28036 or the Pines Resident Support Fund, 400 Avinger Lane, Davidson, North Carolina 28036.

The family would like to thank the incredible staff at the Pines at Davidson as well as her friends, Mattie Davis of Winston-Salem and Phyllis Phifer of Mooresville, both of whom were long-time friends and caregivers. The family also appreciates the wonderful care and support provided by the staff of Levine & Dickson Hospice House in Huntersville, North Carolina.

Ibby also known as “Damie”, will be remembered as a wonderful and resilient mother and grandmother, instilling in her children and grandchildren a great love of, and respect for, the natural world.

Her favorite passage is Isaiah 40:31 as follows: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles: they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”