Tracy Jean Whitaker

Tracy Jean Whitaker of Webster, NC passed away on October 30, 2022, after a period of declining health. She was born on Apr. 12, 1956 in Monroe, NC. Tracy was part of a military family and had gotten to travel the globe from a young age, including to Turkey and Morocco and even lived in Alaska. She was a 1973 graduate of Desert High School at Edwards Air Force Base, CA., then interned with NASA in Junior college where she worked in the same office as the astronauts. She knew many of them and had many interesting stories to tell. Later, she attended Seattle Pacific College where she attained her BS degree in accounting in 1977. After college, Tracy enlisted in the Navy and served her country with sincerity and honor. She was a supplier chain officer at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, as well as Corpus Christi TX. However, her favorite assignment was at the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Oak Harbor WA where she reached the rank of Commander. She would call this beautiful area home for a large portion of her life. After the Navy, Tracy continued her military service with the naval reserves while still living in Oak Harbor. She was the assistant manager of the Fairwood Country Club in Seattle WA, until she relocated to her family home in Jackson County. She also worked for several years at the Sapphire Valley Country Club, where she developed many lifelong friends. She was a companion and care giver to her mother until her death in 2019. Tracy had a passion for genealogy that was fueled by the love she had for her family. Her knowledge is a great loss to the Jackson County community. She knew, not only a great deal about her own family, but many other families native to her WNC home. To walk with her through the Webster cemetery, was like stepping back in time, as she told you of the history of the people buried there. She worked with the Jackson County Historical society on a WWII exhibit that included her uncle Samuel Owens' experiences. She was also an active member of the Webster Methodist and Loves Chapel Methodist Churches. At the end, she longed to be reunited with the family she has lost over the years, especially her great aunt Ila Bumgarner Henson and her nephew Joe Marks, who died many years ago at the age of five. She is reunited with them now and is having a celebration along with her mother and father, Nancy A. Whitaker and William Ray Whitaker and her older sister Nancy N. Whitaker. She is survived by her two younger brothers, William J. (Jim) Whitaker from Anchorage Alaska and Samuel Owens Whitaker, from Niles, Michigan. She is also survived by a Niece, Tamara French and a great niece, that she greatly adored, Lilly French. In her final days she was cared for by many who she loved so much. Flowers, like our sister, pass too quickly. Please donate in her name to the American Heart Association, so that you can sow the seeds of miracles for other families. A celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday, November 12, 2022 at 3:00 pm at Love's Chapel United Methodist Church with Rev. Christine Murphy officiating. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service from 2:00 pm until 3:00 pm at the church.