Dr. Gene Luther Whitington, age 93, of Boone, NC, formerly of Memphis, TN, died peacefully at his home on October 24, 2022. He was born on May 7, 1929, in Memphis as the oldest child to the late Frank and Mary Lena Whitington. Gene graduated from Whitehaven High School, where he played football and ran track, twice served as Class Vice President, and participated in various clubs. Gene's love of athletics started early, and he won many medals and trophies, including being a Tennessee State Champion in 1947 in the 100- and 220-yard dashes. He attended Mississippi State University on scholarship, where he continued to play football as a running back and ran track as a sprinter. Gene attended medical school at the University of Tennessee and graduated in 1953.

Upon graduation from medical school, he was immediately drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to Fort Sam Houston, where he participated in a general medicine internship for a year. Next, Gene was stationed in Panama for two years during the Korean War, serving as a physician and a Commander of the hospital at Fort Clayton. This experience became the foundation for his many years serving as a pediatrician and pediatric gastroenterologist, one of his biggest accomplishments in life. He completed a Residency in Pediatrics and, years later, a Fellowship in Gastroenterology at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. He was on staff at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis from 1956 to 2013. During that time, he served on the hospital's Board of Directors, was elected as Chief of Staff in 1977, and he served as Director of the Foundation for the Study of PSC, a rare liver disease. In a 2004 article, Gene is quoted as saying he didn't plan to retire as he maintained his busy medical practice and dedicated time to the foundation – "I'll die with my boots on. I love my work." Though he did eventually retire in 2013, everyone who knew Gene knows the immense fulfillment he had through his work helping children through medical issues both mundane and rare.

Gene's early love of sports translated into a life-long love of being active; he was an accomplished athlete who loved staying in shape throughout his life through regular exercise and hobbies like riding and caring for horses, flying airplanes, riding motorcycles, skiing, golfing, and traveling. He lived, farmed, and spent time with friends and family all over the Southeast in Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Later in life, he enjoyed walking around his beautiful North Carolina neighborhood with sweeping views of Grandfather Mountain.

Gene was a longtime adventurer, and he told incredible stories about those adventures. He went dog sledding in Northern Minnesota with friends, he led officers seeking their jungle badges in Panama on multi-day treks into the jungle, he flew his favorite cow out of Mexico on his airplane before the government nationalized and took his ranch, and he could match anyone story for story with tales from his own adventurous life. Farming was more than a short-lived adventure or hobby for Gene – it was a second career. He owned and operated three large farms over the years: first, a cattle ranch in Mexico, then a row crop farm in Arkansas, and finally, another cattle ranch in Mississippi, where he also raised horses. Some family members have referred to Gene for years as "The Most Interesting Man in the World," not only because the Dos Equis commercial actor resembled Gene, but because that fictional character had nothing on Gene's real life of interesting adventures. Gene even talked about various celebrity encounters, including serving as Lisa Marie Presley's pediatrician – occasionally making house calls to Graceland, spending an entire day horseback riding with John Wayne on his ranch in Arizona, taking John Denver flying in his Bonanza because Denver was determining what kind of plane to

purchase and had never ridden in a Bonanza and skiing multiple times in both Aspen and Switzerland with Olympic Alpine Gold Medalist Jean-Claude Killy.

Gene also had a passion for music, specifically classical music, and enjoyed serving on the Board of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. An accomplished reader, Gene read several newspapers daily, including in the last days of his life. He consumed countless books, and he was always ready to talk about them with a friend or family member. His tastes ranged from fiction novels to non-fiction biographies, historical accounts, and medical journals.

Gene is survived by his wife, Dr. Rebecca Anderson; daughter, Jeanie Whitington Mercer (Breen Bland), Memphis; daughter, Peggy Whitington Reynolds (Wayne), Beaufort, SC; son, Frank Gaines Whitington (Mary), Windsor, CA; stepdaughter Dr. Katie Sharpe Dean (Timothy), Savannah, GA; stepdaughter Whitney Sharpe Wills (Julian), Port Tobacco, MD; granddaughter, Amanda Mercer Thompson (Dave), Atlanta, GA; grandson Dr. Carlo Ray Reynolds (Jean), Philadelphia, PA; grandson Shepherd Bates Reynolds (Elizabeth), Charlotte, NC; granddaughter Montana Whitington Burdich (Collin), San Francisco, CA; granddaughter Savannah Whitington Van Meter (Jeff), Novato, CA; grandsons Anderson, Thomas and William Dean, Savannah, GA; grandson Julian Wills (Port Tobacco, MD); brother Dr. Peter F. Whitington (Susan), Burnsville, NC; brother Dr. Timothy Whitington (Suwannee), Bangkok, Thailand; sister Jane Whitington, Washington, DC; seven great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by two children, Gene Luther Whitington, Jr. and Deborah Whitington Demott; one grandson Frank Gaines Whitington, Jr.; and three siblings John Raymond Whitington, Mary Ann Wood, and Helen Frances Grayson.

At Gene's request, his body was donated to Wake Forest University School of Medicine for the advancement of science. A Celebration of Life service was held on Saturday, November 12, 2022, at Hound Ears Club in Boone. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, the American Cancer Society or The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation.

Condolences may be offered, and a full obituary may be found at www.hamptonfuneralnc.com

A more complete obituary will be posted on November 12th.

Hampton Funeral and Cremation Service is in charge of the arrangements.