Dorothy Ann Whitney

Born Dorothy Ann Blubaugh on November 25, 1934, in St. Louis, Missouri, Dot was the eldest daughter of Lemuel and Gertrude Blubaugh, and sister to Mary and Jim. Raised in a joyful, close-knit neighborhood, Dot loved retelling stories of putting on plays with the local kids, filling her street with laughter and imagination.

Growing up, Dot played softball and basketball in junior high, braving outdoor winter practices due to the lack of a gym. In high school, she played girls’ rules basketball, often joking about how much she disliked the half-court rule, always preferring the freedom of full-court play.

She had a lifelong love for music and dancing, especially to Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald. Her high school years were filled with rhythm, friendship, and joy, memories she carried warmly throughout her life.

After graduating from an all-girls Catholic high school, Dot worked at a title company where she would sometimes have to run the switch board, a job she would giggle about, sharing with her grandkids and explaining what a switchboard was.

It was during this time, Dot met her soul mate, Vernon “Hap” Whitney, on a blind date while he was home from Purdue University one summer. Their connection was instant. Dot would take the train to Purdue to visit and often joined his parents at his wrestling tournaments. Hap proposed at his fraternity house, beginning a marriage that would last over 60 years.

They were married on August 18, 1956, in St. Louis, Missouri, and later moved to Columbia, where Hap earned his master’s at The University of Missouri. After a couple years teaching in various cities, they returned to Columbia in 1964, where they chose to raise their family and build a lasting home as Hap became the wrestling coach at Mizzou.

Together, they raised six children, and Dot poured herself into motherhood, bringing the kids to every match Hap coached, weaving athletics and family into one shared legacy. Her kids loved coming home after school to fresh baked cookies and a homemade dessert after every dinner. They remember her faithful presence at every recital, game, and school event, a tradition she happily carried on with her grandkids and great grandkids.

Her cutout cookies became legend — first shared with the Mizzou wrestling team, whom she and Hap hosted for Christmas dinner each year, then her own kids, grandkids and even great grandkids who recall the messy, loud and most importantly, fun days sitting at Grandma’s table decorating them each holiday.

Dot had a green thumb, inherited from her father. Her home garden included irises from her father’s original plants, which still bloom today. She lovingly grew African violets, orchids and various other plants, filling her kitchen windows with blooms. During Sunday dinners, someone inevitably knocked over a violet, quickly cleaning it up before she noticed.

She loved traveling with her children and close friends, taking the station wagon across the country to Arizona, the Grand Canyon, the Smoky Mountains, Washington DC and many Civil War battlefields. She believed in living while you could, always saying:

“You need to do things like this while you can because one day you can’t do it anymore.”

She also loved camping and floating Missouri rivers teaching her children to love nature. She cherished time at the family lake house, which she maintained for the joy and memories it brought to her children and grandchildren, even though she never learned to swim herself.

As her kids grew up, Dot found ways to keep busy: she was a proud and competitive member of her Tuesday morning bowling league, where she came just shy of bowling 200 more than once.

With a passion for sewing, she would help sew Greek letters and apparel for fraternities and sororities through the local business, Red Weir.

Dot also generously devoted her time to volunteering at Ellis Fischel Cancer Hospital, where she lovingly sewed blankets and caps for cancer patients, offering comfort, warmth, and a personal touch of care to those in need.

Once the grandkids started rolling in (and didn’t stop) her devotion to her family started all over again.

Her home was the center of countless traditions. Sunday night dinners spanned decades. Birthday cakes were still made from scratch for each family member with a loud rendition of “Happy Birthday” at the dining room table. The aforementioned cut out cookie decorating days, a puzzle was always being worked on somewhere with a Hallmark movie in the background. But Christmas- Christmas in Dot’s basement was magical — with more than 40 people gathered, celebrating with food, family, love, and a lot of wrapping paper.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents, Lemuel and Gertrude, her brother Jim, and her beloved husband Vernon “Hap” Whitney. She is survived by her sister, Mary Schiffman, in-laws: Larry Berres, Diana Gardner, Rita Blubaugh and Carol Whitney, along with many nieces and nephews. Also her children: Karen (Roger) Lower, Terry Whitney and Carol Miller, Christy (Tim) Danze, Keith Whitney, Carla Whitney and Brian Haskamp, and Tricia (John) Williams. As well as grandchildren: Kyle (Rachael) Lower, Lauren (Geoff) Karr, Kurt Lower and Bailee Shriver, Kayla Klein, Blair Whitney and Sean Michael Stanley, Blake (Kelly) Whitney, Whitney (Derek) Lyssy, Courtney (AJ) Kinnard, Kory (Stephanie) Lower, Brett Williams, Morgan Williams, Brooklyn O’Nan and Lillie Williams. Not to be forgotten are her great grandchildren: Kennedy Karr, Joseph Lyssy, Beckett Karr, Caroline Lyssy, Emerson Whitney, Isaac Lyssy, Whitley Lower, Penny Stanley, Anthony Lyssy, Oliver and Theodore Whitney, Claire Lower, Agnes Lyssy, Callie Lower, and three more little blessings on the way.

Dot never met a stranger. Her laugh could light up a room, her kitchen was always open, and her faith, kindness, and humility touched everyone she met. Dot was a devout Catholic, she was a member of Our Lady of Lourdes for 60 years and we know she is at peace with her Lord.

Services will be held at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church on Friday, June 20, 2025. The visitation will begin at 10:00am, followed by a funeral Mass at 11:00am.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial may be made to Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church or the Tiger Style Wrestling Club at www.tigerstylewrestlingclub.com.

As we honor Dot and her legacy, let us always remember- family is forever, travel when you can and bake the cookies.