Raymond Eads Whiteaker 1928-2019

January 16, 2019

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SMBA's first Law Day, 1963: SMBA President Kenneth Reid, Law Day Chairman Ray Whiteaker and keynote speaker Dr. Francisco Taracido

Raymond Eads Whiteaker 1928-2019

SMBA member and past president Raymond Eads Whiteaker, passed away on January 15, 2019, in Kansas City.

Ray was born in Campbell, Missouri on September 25, 1928, to Ryland and Edna Whiteaker. He earned his J.D. at the University of Missouri Law School in 1953. After law school he spent two years serving as an artillery man in the U.S. Army.

Ray settled in Springfield in 1955 where he joined the law firm of Allen, Woolsey, and Fisher (later Woolsey, Fisher, Clark and Whiteaker). His legal career as a trial attorney spanned 50 years. In 1970, Ray served as president of the Greene County Bar which become the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association. In 2008, Ray was the recipient of the Distinguished Attorney Award, the highest honor awarded by the SMBA.

Ray also served on the Springfield-Branson National Airport Board of Directors and was a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel. He retired in Overland Park, KS in 2014.

Ray is survived by his wife, Leah Whiteaker of Overland Park, KS; his three daughters and son-in-laws, Betsey and Ted Streuli of Edmond, Oklahoma; Janie Whiteaker-Poe and Matt Poe of Waco, Texas; and Tammy and Eddie James of Kansas City, MO; seven grandchildren Whiteaker, Anne, Charlie and Oliver James; Raymond and Ryland Streuli; and Eben Poe; his sister Marceline Riggs of Phoenix; and his beloved dog Theo. Ray is predeceased by his first wife JoEtta Seeley Whiteaker, three daughters Jean Louise, Sara Jo, and Jennifer Elizabeth, and his brother Ryland Dewey Whiteaker, Jr.

A celebration of Ray's life is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Friday, January 18 at McGilley Memorial Chapel—Midtown, 20 West Linwood Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64111.

No services are planned in Springfield, but please join his daughters Betsey and Janie to remember Ray, at the home of Jim and Jane McKinney, 5295 S. Stonehaven Drive, Springfield, Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Sara and Jennifer Whiteaker Memorial Scholarship, Springfield Public Schools Foundation, 1151 N. Boonville, Springfield, MO 65802.