Victor Lee Whitney

Victor Lee Whitney passed away peacefully at home on September 14, 2023. The night he passed was the first time in 40 years that he and his wife spent the night with all their children in the house where they grew as a family.

Victor was born on June 7, 1940 in Ionia, Michigan to Lee and Bonnie (Lindsay) Whitney. He was the oldest of six children. After spending part of his childhood in Greensburg, KS, the family moved to Kansas City when his dad became a painter for TWA. Victor was in the 6th grade at the time. That year, he met his best friend, Kimball Backus, Jr. This friendship lasted their entire lives. Victor attended Washington High School for his freshman year and then decided to transfer to Piper High School his sophomore year. He was one of nine classmates in his graduating class. While at Piper, Victor was the quarterback for the 6 man football team. He also participated in shot put/discus for track and field. He also spent much of high school getting into teenage hijinx with Kimball. He graduated from Piper in 1958.

After high school, Victor returned to watch a basketball game at Piper where he noticed a senior student named Carolyn Cassidy. Soon after Carolyn graduated, Victor and she went out. Their first date was to the movies. Six months later, on Christmas Eve, 1960, he asked her to marry him. Their best friends, Kimball and Delores, were in the back seat. Victor told Carolyn her gift was in the glove box. The gift was a watch. Slightly disappointed because she was hoping for an engagement ring, Carolyn did not notice that the engagement ring was on a chain around the rear view mirror. Obviously, she said yes. She always said that Vic was the best thing that ever happened to her. They married on June 10, 1961. Twenty-five years later on Christmas Eve, Vic recreated his proposal to Carolyn. This time, their two youngest children, Mike and Jill, sat in the backseat as he had an anniversary ring hanging on a chain from the rear view mirror.

The marriage lasted 62 years, still in love as ever. Victor always called Carolyn his girlfriend. They had three children, Ward, Mike and Jill. Victor was a fantastic father. Victor famously woke up his children by going down the hallway yelling “OO-WA-KEE!” The kids never knew where he got the phrase from, but always knew it was the best wake up alarm. He worked long hours to provide for his family. Big family trips included Disney World, Disneyland and an RV trip with the Backus’ to Colorado. However, the family’s most treasured trips were to the lake. His love of boating and being in the lake was instilled in all the Whitneys. Victor patiently taught all the kids to waterski and loved pulling the kids on the tube. He was an amazing waterskier himself. The kids loved watching him start and stop skiing from a seated position on the dock. He always was great at slalom skiing. The lake is where Victor truly relaxed.

If Victor was a great father, he hit it out of the park when he became a grandfather. He and Carolyn shared 6 grandchildren, Lee, Kelsey, Kyle, Hannah, Kate and Aaron. They made sure they took all the grandchildren to Disney World and continued the love of boating and the lake. If there was an event the grandchildren were in, Victor and Carolyn were there. He loved to make his grandchildren moan with his bad dad jokes. Joke books were a Christmas gift to him a few times to try to help. He was always up for games, and being silly. He was forever a 12 year old trapped in an adult body. His grandchildren loved it.

In March 1959, Victor started working as a transport refrigeration mechanic at Thermo King. Victor was an extremely hard worker at Thermo King. In 1969, Victor was promoted to Service Manager at the Kansas City dealership. It is a position he held for 33 years. He wasn’t just a Service Manager who managed his crew, he was a teacher. Besides managing the department, Victor would work right along with all the mechanics. He was a great teacher to those just beginning in the mechanical field. He was awarded the corporate Service Manager of the Year in 1984. This honor brought an all expense paid trip to Hawaii, which had been a dream of Carolyn’s. Victor jokingly for years had to say, “I’ve been there” every time any picture of Hawaii came on the TV. Yes, we all know you went to Hawaii!! After 50 years at Thermo King, Victor decided it was finally time to retire.

Victor was the handyman to end all handymen. Other than electrical work, there wasn’t anything that he wouldn’t fix or build. However, his love was mechanics and engine. We are sure he was born with a tool in his hand. He kept cars, lawnmowers, and boats all running smoothly. In his younger years, Vic would participate in off-road trial motorbike competitions. He had many trophies displayed for his talents in these competitions. He was joined in many events by his brother, Glenn and his oldest son, Ward. He became passionate in the late 1990s to restore old tractors. Farmall tractors were his love, (Real tractors are red, not green!!) He drove his tractors many times in Piper’s homecoming parades. He even led a tractor parade to Hash House A Go Go where they were on display in front of the restaurant. However, his favorite thing to do was to take his grandchildren (and later great grandchildren) on tractor rides at the Backus farm.

Victor was also a big sports fan. He was a huge University of Kansas Jayhawks fan. He loved basketball games. He had a tradition of jokingly calling his daughter before each game to make sure she knew a game was about to start, knowing very well that she knew when all the games are played. He also continued this tradition with KC Chiefs games.

Progressive Subnuclear Palsy caused Victor in the last few years to begin to weaken and slow some processing skills. It ultimately was the disease that took him from his family and loved ones.

Victor was preceded in death by both his parents, his beloved brother Glenn and his best friend, Kimball Backus, Jr. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn, and his three children. Ward (Amy) Whitney, Michael (Karri) Whitney and Jill (Lance) Tomczyk. He is also survived by his 6 grandchildren, Lee (Misty) Whitney II, Kelsey (Brian) Scardina, Kyle (Holly) Whitney, Hannah Whitney, Kate Tomczyk and Aaron Tomczyk. He also had 7 great grandchildren, Anthony, Lee III, Lainey, Reese, Bodie, Jocelyn and June. He is also survived by his four sisters, Charlene, Crystal, Sherry and Pat and 11 nieces/nephews. The family would like to thank KC Hospice for the wonderful care they provided for Victor.

A celebration of life will take place on Sunday, October 1, 2023. Visitation is from 11:00 am-12:00 pm. Service will begin at 12:00 pm at Chapel Hill-Butler Funeral Home. Burial at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, 701 N. 94th St, Kansas City, Kansas.

Serving as Honorary Pallbearers are Lee Whitney, Kelsey Scardina, Kyle Whitney, Hannah Whitney, Kate Tomczyk, Aaron Tomczyk, Debbie Fryatt and Kimball Backus III.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.chapelhill-butler.com for the Whitney family.