Hundreds of people were in Williamsburg over the weekend to pay their last respects to the community’s most well-known and dedicated leader Johnny Whitteker. He died April 7, 2016. He was 89.
Whitteker served the community for 52 consecutive years, until 2006, as a member of municipal council. In all that time, he never missed a council meeting.
Whitteker was elected the first mayor of the amalgamated municipality of South Dundas.
Prior to that, Whitteker was a long-serving member of Williamsburg Township council, having first been elected to council in 1954, winning that election by only 13 votes. He went on to serve as Reeve of Williamsburg, a position that he held for decades.
In municipal circles, Whitteker became well known for Williamsburg’s black-topped roads. When other similar townships had about 30 per cent paved roads, Williamsburg had about 70 per cent of its roads paved.
Former South Dundas mayor, and longtime Williamsburg resident, Steven Byvelds said, “Johnny was always known as a strong leader who knew how to get things done. He had the foresight to find and spend money on blacktop, which will always be appreciated by those who remember the old days of gravel and narrow roads.”
Former SD&G chief administrative officer Mike Waddell said Johnny was so well-respected because he believed, not in telling people what they wanted to hear, but instead in telling them what they needed to hear. “His word was as good as his signature.”
In 1997, Williamsburg’s park was named, J.C. Whitteker Park, in his honour. “He was really proud of that, and I’m glad we were able to do that while he was living,” said David Lapier, who spear-headed the effort.
Whitteker served 47 years on Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Counties council, and was warden in 1975. He only missed one counties council meeting, and that was because, at the age of 70, he broke his leg playing hockey.
He was a member of South Nation Conservation Authority for 41 years and the Eastern Ontario Health Unit for 26 years.
With the help of his family, he was a successful farmer, with a herd of 600 cows, divided evenly between beef and dairy.
Whitteker was part of the Independent Order of Oddfellows, which held a service at his wake, Saturday, April 9, exactly 65 years, to the day, after he joined the order.
Whitteker’s funeral took place Sunday, April 10th at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, in Williamsburg, where he was a dedicated lifetime member.
The church full of family, friends, dignitaries and community members, laughed and cried as touching eulogies were delivered of the man with the twinkle in his eye and the smile on his face.
“His was a life well-lived,” said Robert ‘Rowdy’ Gillard, who served 30 years on council with Whitteker. “Anyone who didn’t know Johnny Whitteker, should have.”
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