Vernon "Hap" Whitney

Vernon (Hap) Whitney, 87, of Columbia, died April 27, 2022. Born on July 5, 1934, Hap got his nickname early in life from his older sister for being so happy all the time. Small in stature from the beginning, Hap learned young his love of wrestling. He wrestled at Normandy High School in St. Louis from 1949-1952 where he became the state's first four-time state champion. After graduating in 1952, Hap attended Purdue University where he went on to become a Big 10 conference champion and was named an All-American at the 1956 NCAA Championships. The same year, he served as an alternate on the U.S. Olympic team.

After graduating in 1956 with a Bachelors in Health and Physical Education, Hap returned home to St. Louis where he married Dorothy Blubaugh on August 18. After a few years teaching high school, the family moved to Columbia where Hap graduated with a Masters of Education from the University of Missouri, Columbia while teaching physical education at the University.

Hap became the head coach of the Missouri Tigers Wrestling program shortly after in 1964 and arguably brought it into the modern era. Under his direction, the Tigers earned its first Big Eight Championship, its first team to score points at the NCAA Championships (1967), its first undefeated season (1968), and its first ranked team (1968). He coached the team for 10 years before moving on as an Associate Athletic Director for Mizzou for another seven years. To this day, Hap’s legacy continues through the Hap Whitney Coaches Award, an annual honor given to the Mizzou wrestler who displays dedication, commitment, sacrifice, and unselfishness to the team on a constant basis. Hap retired in 1998 after spending 18 years as the Director of Physical Education and Athletics for Columbia Public Schools. He was proud to serve for two years as the MIAAA president, as well as many hours with the Show-Me State Games. Education and athletics were truly a part of his heart and soul.

Throughout his life, Hap was blessed with many accolades, all of which he was more than modest about. In 1997 he was inducted into the University of Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame on Faurot Field. He is a 2011 inductee of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, a charter member of the Missouri Wrestling Hall of Fame (1977), and was honored to become a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2005. One of his favorite honors was being named the Kiwanis Club’s 1993 Sportsperson of the Year, an award voted on by his fellow peers.

Outside of molding minds in the gym, Hap was molding minds at home. His kids fondly remember the many camping trips, family dogs, and special treats of the drive-through where everyone got the same thing no matter what. His grandkids will never forget coffee time at Hardee’s if they got good grades, tractor rides around the log cabin, and summers stuffed into the small (but full of love) condo at the Lake of the Ozarks. But most of all, they will all treasure the importance of quality family time thanks to Hap and Dot. Sunday night dinners that were always just a little too loud and a little too hot, tailgating at Mizzou games in his beloved Lot C, and Christmas, where Hap would time how long it took to open gifts, all the while smiling through every hour. He was so proud of his wife, children, grandchildren, and growing brood of great-grandchildren. You’d be hard pressed to remember a concert, recital, game, graduation or wedding he missed. He treasured his wife and the family they built. In doing so, his family promises to keep these traditions alive and well for generations to come.

Hap is survived by his wife of 65 years, Dorothy; their children, Karen (Roger) Lower, Terry Whitney and Carol Miller, Christy (Tim) Danze, Keith Whitney, Carla Whitney and Brian Haskamp, and Tricia (John) Williams; grandchildren, Kyle (Rachael) Lower, Lauren (Geoff) Karr, Kurt Lower, Kayla Klein, Blair Whitney and Seanmichael Stanley, Blake (Kelly) Whitney, Whitney (Derek) Lyssy, Courtney Danze, Kory (Stephanie) Lower, Brett Williams, Morgan Williams, and Lillie Williams; great-grandchildren, Kennedy Karr, Joseph Lyssy, Beckett Karr, Caroline Lyssy, Emerson Whitney, Isaac Lyssy, Whitley Lower, Penny Stanley, Anthony Lyssy, Oliver and Theodore Whitney, and Baby Lower on the way. He is also survived by one sister, Diana Gardner; brother-in-law, Larry Berres; several nieces and nephews; and many, many friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Clarence and Emily Whitney; and siblings, Dorothy, Helen, Joe, Don, John and Judy.

A visitation will be held on Thursday, May 5, 2022 from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm. Funeral services will be the following day, Friday, May 6, 2022 at 11:30 am, both at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial may be made to the Tiger Style Wrestling Club at www.tigerstylewrestlingclub.com.

The family asks that you remember, in this ever-changing world we live in, there was always one constant, Hap truly was the happiest of men. May we all live a little more like he did, happy until the end. “Keep wrestling”.