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February 2, 2010

Former Dalton council member remembered for love of city and family

Charles Oliver

When Dalton’s new City Hall was being planned a decade ago, City Council members say they all wanted it to be special, but no one took a greater interest than council member Charlie Whitener.

“He wanted a particular look for that new City Hall. He went to Barnes and Noble in Chattanooga and bought some books on government buildings,” said former mayor Ray Elrod. “He picked out the front of that building from one of those books. That’s what he wanted it to look like, and he showed it to the rest of us and we agreed.”

Whitener headed up the design team for the City Hall.

“He took care of all the details,” said former City Council member Mike Robinson.

Whitener, 81, passed away on Monday at his home after a long battle with cancer. He served on the City Council from 1998-2005.

“He loved the city of Dalton,” said Elrod. “He was always very deliberate and conscientious before he voted on something because he wanted to do the right thing for the city.”

Whitener was born in Cherry Log on Jan. 7, 1929, the son of Stella and Clifford Whitener. He grew up in Rome and was a graduate of Gordon Military Academy and attended the University of Georgia, the University of Maryland and Georgia State University. He married Maebelle Berry Whitener on Dec. 24, 1950.

From 1948 until 1950 he served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. and from 1950 through 1953 he served in the U.S. Air Force at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. After completing his military duty, he joined General Electric Co. in Rome and served as an industrial engineer.

In 1960, he moved his family to Abbeville, S.C., where he worked in management for the Deering-Milliken Co. In 1963 he returned to Rome and spent three years in sales for Rome Machine and Foundry. In 1966 he moved his family to Dalton and took a position in sales with Norville Industries. After leaving Norville Industries in 1968, he owned and operated several yarn manufacturing and processing firms in the Dalton area, including Tesco Inc. and Yarn Set Inc.

“He was a man who had done well in life and wanted to help others,” said former council member Bobby Grant.

Friends remember Whitener as an outgoing man who enjoyed being around others.

“He cared about people and what happened in their lives,” Elrod said.

But the most important thing to Whitener, say friends, was his family.

“He took care of his mother and his wife,” Robinson said. “Charlie was very attentive to his family.”

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