Lottie McWhorter's Obituary
Lottie McWhorter, widow of E. R. McWhorter, passed away on Wednesday, September 1, 2010, at her residence in Longview at the age of 97. Her funeral will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, September 3, at First Presbyterian Church of Longview, with burial immediately following in Grace Hill Cemetery, under the direction of Rader Funeral Home.
The third of six surviving children of Walter Thomas Wherry and his wife, the former Laura Wellington Childress, Mrs. McWhorter was born as Lottie Maicel Wherry on July 14, 1913, in the Spindletop Oil Field community of Guffey. Her father operated a general store and boarding house and served as postmaster. He became a successful independent oil operator at Spindletop and other fields of southeast Texas and moved his family a few miles north into Beaumont. Lottie graduated from South Park High School, South Park Junior College which became Lamar University, and Chenier Business College in Beaumont, and attended Southwest Texas Teachers College in San Marcos. While employed at United Gas Company in Beaumont, Lottie met Eugene Rodden McWhorter of Longview, known as Gene, who was a district engineer for the company. He was the son of Eugene Osborne McWhorter and his wife, the former Vesta Leila Echols. Lottie and Gene were married on November 23, 1935, at First Baptist Church of Beaumont, where Lottie had long been a member and Sunday school teacher. They lived in Orange for a few months, then moved to Longview in 1936. Lottie joined Gene's church, First Presbyterian, in which both served actively. The family moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, immediately after World War II, but returned to Longview six months later. After Gene's death in 1991, Lottie continued to reside in their home. Three children were born to Lottie and Gene. Their son Eugene Warren McWhorter married Nancy Green of Longview, and they live in that city. Their son Dr. William Paul McWhorter married Maxine Mohon of Longview, and they live in Eugene, Oregon. Their daughter Charlotte Vesta McWhorter married Thomas Gardner Rundell of Wichita Falls, and they live in Dallas. Until retiring in 2003 at the age of 90, Lottie worked at home as bookkeeper and office manager for family business interests in commercial real estate, farming, timber, and oil and gas in Gregg and Reeves Counties. She was a member of the Shakespeare Club, the Captain William Young Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution serving as local regent and at the state level, the Longview Study Club, and the Longview Garden Club. An avid historian and genealogist, Lottie was the chief compiler of two books on her husband's McWhorter and Henderson ancestry. She also compiled a book on her Childress ancestry. Among many other duties in which she served enthusiastically at First Presbyterian Church, she was historian for many years. Lottie was predeceased by her husband, E. R. McWhorter; her parents; her brothers, Clyde Amos Wherry and Billy Lynn Wherry; and her sisters, Elsie Blake Wherry Samuell, Edna Elizabeth Wherry Myers, and Margaret Ellen Wherry Monk. She is survived by her three children and their spouses and by grandchildren Andrew Gordon McWhorter of Dallas, his wife Christy, and their children Caroline and Catherine; David Warren McWhorter of Little Rock, his wife Molly, and their children Madisen and Carter; Laura Kelly McWhorter of Nashville and her children Andrew and Nicholas Artates; Dr. Valerie Catherine McWhorter of San Diego, her husband Dean Altschuler, and her son Collin Miller; Thomas Gardner Rundell, Jr., of Dallas; and John Rodden Rundell of Glen Rock, New Jersey, his wife Sinead, and their children Margaret and Henry; and by a number of cousins, nieces, and nephews.
Lottie's family wishes to express appreciation to the persons who helped make her declining years happy ones: Prissi Owens, Debra McGowen, Bertha Marshall, Kim McGowen, Linda Rigo, Wanda Love, Shirley Odom, Alicia Robinson, Janet Tepper Moore, and Nell Secord of SeniorCare Registry.
Memorial contributions may be directed to Gregg County Historical Museum, PO Box 3342, Longview, TX 75606, or to a charity of the donor's choice.
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