Gloria Lucile Connor Whitney passed away in her home, surrounded by family, on May 1, 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was 93 years old. Gloria was born June 5, 1929 in Los Angeles, California to B. Lucile and Richard Fitzgerald Connor. She married Edward J. Whitney in Elko, Nevada in 1949, who preceded her in death on December 24, 1996.
Gloria lived all over the United States, as her father worked in the radio business. The place she lived the longest and loved the most as a child was Manhattan Beach, California. Gloria loved the beach her entire life, frequently taking her own family back for summer vacations. Because of moving around so much, she attended many schools. In Salt Lake City, she attended East High and the University of Utah.
Just walking into Gloria’s house, you could see that her top priority was her family. Her walls were covered with family pictures. She kept a close eye on her family through social media and went to plays, graduations, and sporting events for her children and grandchildren. Gloria must have made the ‘million mile car club’ driving her children to daily swimming practices and swim meets across the Western United States.
Besides her family, Gloria had hobbies that she enjoyed. Gloria loved to read. A book was always nearby. Her shelves were filled double deep with paperback books. Her favorite author was Clive Cussler. Gloria followed the Utah Jazz and the San Francisco 49ers. She waited all week for the PGA golf tournament to see her favorite player, Tony Finau. One of her final phone calls was relaying that Tony was playing in the Mexico Open, which he won. She has to be smiling about that.
Gloria worked as a 911 Emergency Dispatcher for the Salt Lake City Police and Fire Departments until her retirement. She received several awards for her service and inspiration. After her retirement, she looked forward to lunches with her dispatcher friends.
Gloria is survived by her daughters Susan Ross (John), Barbara Doxey (Tom), son Richard Whitney (Tracy), and brother Ned Connor (Joanne). Gloria was also the grandmother of fourteen grandchildren, and eighteen great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Edward J. Whitney, son Edward J. Whitney Jr. “Ted”, grandsons Robert Clawson and Mike Ross, and brother Richard Connor.
Funeral services will be held on May 13th from 2:00-3:00 pm at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary 3401 South Highland Drive, Millcreek, Utah.
