Charles Whitaker

Charles Wilson Whitaker was escorted by the angels to his heavenly home while surrounded by his loving family on June 6, 2024.

Born on November 11, 1928 to Sherman and Lorene Whitaker, he was 95 years of age at the time of his passing.

Charles was a lifelong resident of Cromona, Kentucky and made his home there with the love of his life, Bobbie, who was his bride of 68 years.

A football player for the Fleming-Neon Pirates, Charles graduated from high school in 1947, attended Eastern Kentucky University and worked with his father in family business endeavors before answering the call of the nation to join the U.S. Army.

While enlisted, Charles was deployed to post World War II Europe where he was engaged in operations that put Germany, France, England and other nations on the road to recovery. He remained in the Army during the Korean War, and was a proud veteran.

Upon return to his beloved Kentucky home, Charles began the search for his lifetime vocation and more importantly, his lifetime partner. He found both in Bobbie Jean Browning
Whitaker whom he wed in 1955.

The two began a printing business which in years to come birthed several newspapers in eastern Kentucky, including The Letcher County Community News-Press, The Knott County News, The Elkhorn City Enterprise, and The Phelps Pony Express, and in recent years purchased the Harlan County Tri-City News. He was the first and only publisher of The Letcher County News-Press, a position he held for 65 years until the time of his passing. The couple also owned and operated WNKY radio for a number of years.

In addition to their business, Charles and Bobbie welcomed two sons to their union, William Michael (Tina) and Christopher Lee (Pam), both of whom still make their home in
Cromona.

Throughout his lifetime, Charles mentored many people who would go on to make business, community and spiritual leaders of their own through the lessons he taught them in both newspaper and radio. These people, along with the Whitaker family, have supported and encouraged Letcher County and the eastern Kentucky region through various media outlets.

A co-founder of the Kentucky Weekly Newspaper Association, Charles was also a 65-year member of the Kentucky Press Association.

His advocacy for his eastern Kentucky home and the mountains was never more apparent than when he responded to a 1960s Life Magazine Feature on the War on Poverty that focused on eastern Kentucky including staged photographs depicting local children as dirty. The feature sparked such a level of outrage within Charles that it prompted him to load up his young family in his wood-paneled station wagon to drive to New York City, where he did his own feature of poverty-stricken America, including impromptu photographs of life in the ghettos of the country’s biggest city. When he published the next week’s edition of The Community Press, every member of the United States Congress received a copy, personally sent by Charles.

He was well-known for his steady, cool-headed approach to the many controversial issues that shaped eastern Kentucky for decades, and was often sought for advice on how to enlist the public’s support for change.

Charles was a Christian man and lifetime member of the Church of Christ. He was the co-founder of the Skyview Recreation Park in Haymond and remained a member of the Skyview Board of Directors until his passing.

He served for a time on the Local Advisory Board of the Whitesburg Appalachian Regional Hospital, as well as numerous other local organizations. Charles served as the president of the Elkhorn Country Club for a number of years, guiding it through the changes of ownership that finally led to the 18-hole golf course that it is today.

He leaves a legacy from which his family, friends and community will benefit for years to come.

In addition to his loving wife and sons, left to cherish his memory are grandsons: Paul Michael Whitaker (Betty) of Cromona; James Nicholas Whitaker (Sabrina) of Jackhorn; and Logan Richardson of Jackhorn; great-grandchildren: Samuel, Emily, Lance, Tye, and Annie; as well as a special sister-in-law, Anna Sue Browning of Neon; brother-in-law: Harold Browning of Lancaster, Kentucky and sister-in-law: Enith Bentley of Lancaster.

He was preceded in death by a grandson, Joshua Whitaker, and great-grandson, Preston Whitaker.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, June 12, 2024 at 1:00 P.M. at the Letcher Funeral Home Chapel with Chris Fleming officiating. Visitation will be Tuesday, June 11, 2024 at 6:00 P.M. at the Letcher Funeral Home Chapel. Entombment will be at the Green Aces Cemetery.