Arlee Geneve Willhite

Arlee Geneve Sant Willhite passed away on September 15, 2019, surrounded by loved ones. Arlee was born September 1, 1918 in Long Beach, Ca., 2 months before the end of World War I. Born to Joseph R. Sant and Nellie Astle Sant. It was during the Flu Epidemic of 1918, and she was born with the Flu. Her father worked in the shipyards in Long Beach during the war. Arlee was the youngest of 5 children, and when she was 5 years old, moved with her family to Sacramento, Ca. where they remained until she was 10 years old. At that time, her family returned to Southern California where she attended Jr. & Sr. High School. After graduation, Arlee married a high school boyfriend, Fielding Masters, and later gave birth to a son, Ronald N. Masters. Several years later she married Sherman Lee Willhite. She also had a daughter, Carol Willhite. In 1948, Arlee and Sherman moved to Weatherford, Texas with Ronald and Carol. In 1951 the family moved to Houston. Arlee went to work for Bell Telephone Co., where she worked for many years in the business office. Arlee was a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon), and was very active and served many callings. Among those callings was as a Family History Instructor. She was involved in Family History research and Indexing for many years – Indexing over 250,000 records, making them available for research. In 1984 she also served a Full-Time, 1 year mission in the Seattle Washington Mission. Upon returning from her Church mission, she came back to Houston, where she went to work in her daughter Carol’s interior design business. She continued there until her retirement in 1999. Arlee was predeceased by her parents; her husband Sherman; her four siblings; her son Ronald, and other family members. She leaves behind her daughter, Carol; her grandsons Ronald, Christopher, & Matthew Masters, as well as her granddaughter, Adriana DeFrancesco. Arlee also had many devoted and loving friends who were greatly appreciated. A memorial service will be held at Earthman Funeral Home, 8303 Katy Freeway, on September 21, 2019 @ 10:00 AM. Following the memorial service, burial will be a private service @ Forest Park East in Webster.