Obituary of Tony Whitworth

We are deeply saddened to announce that Tony died very suddenly on December 14, 2015 enroute to the Villa in Largo, Florida. Tony was born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, England on February 26, 1941. He is survived by his devoted and loving wife, Lin Whitworth; their children Paul Whitworth (Jane Song) of Carlsbad, California, Heather Leonard (Matthew) of Toronto, Canada, and Melissa March of Macclesfield, England; his brothers Derek of San Leandro, California and Geoffrey (Susan) of Leeds, England; and, his grandchildren Amelia, Jack, Alec, James, Reece and Brooke. Tony’s education took place in both England and Canada with his post-secondary studies in physical chemistry at the University of London, England and his PhD. at the University of Leeds, England. Tony acquired his M.B.A and M.Ed. at the University of Toronto/OISE and had his accounting designation, CPA and his legacy accounting designations, CMA and CGA. Working careers had Tony in the chemical industry at the University of Montreal, Johnson and Johnson and Borden Chemicals, and in the Research department at the University of Guelph in Ontario. While at the University of Guelph, he decided to expand his career into the Administrative side of managing a University. He accepted a post at Mohawk College, a large Community College in Hamilton, Ontario, as Vice President, Finance and Resources and also assumed the position of Dean of Business Studies when budget cut-backs took place in the Ontario College system in the 1990s. In 1994, Tony accepted the position of Vice President, Finance and Administration at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. Although friends warned Tony and Lin that it is very dusty in the summertime and freezing cold in the wintertime, they still made the trip from their home in Burlington, Ontario to Saskatoon. They settled easily in Saskatoon and became active citizens of the City and active members of the University community. Tony retired from the University in 2005 but remained involved as a member with the University’s Retirees’ Association (USRA) and as a Board member on the University Club Board. As Saskatoon was their home, Tony and Lin remained in their beautiful city after retirement but they became snow-birds by wintering down south. Tony’s philosophy to community work was strong with his involvement of 16 years as an Alderman on the Burlington City Council 1978 to 1994, on the Board of Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital in Burlington and on the United Way Boards in both Burlington and Saskatoon. He Chaired the United Way Campaign in Saskatoon in 2001. Tony and Lin loved to travel and took every opportunity to see the world. Since 2012 they have enjoyed their Villa and the Villas Capri community in Largo, Florida. With a quest, they travelled across the United States for many years to learn about each State by visiting the Capital Cities. They also had great interest in visiting the US Presidential Library Museums. Tony and Lin had visited 47 of the 50 Capitals and all of the 13 Library Museums built to-date. Tony’s hobbies included soccer (English football) as a coach, a certified referee and a fan of the English Premier League. Tony was a marathon runner well into his late forties and enjoyed the daily strenuous practice runs needed for major marathons. He took up golf in his later years and tried hard to work on his game but mostly loved playing golf with close friends just to get outside and walk. He loved attending golf tournaments such as The 2012 Ryder Cup at Medina, IL, the 2013 & 2014 Valspar PGA Championship at Palm Harbor, FL and the 2015 US Open at Chambers Bay, WA. They were thrilled to volunteer as Marshals at the more recent 2015 Valspar PGA Championship. Tony’s family wishes to extend their deepest gratitude for the professional and caring help of President Tim Kilgore and his staff at the Manchester Funeral Home in Tennessee who worked tirelessly to bring Tony home.