James Therman "Whimpy" Widener's Obituary
James Therman “Whimpy” Widener, 86, of Memphis, passed away November 5, 2021, in Amarillo, Texas.
Services will be 2:00 PM Tuesday, November 9, 2021, at the First Baptist Church in Memphis, Texas. Graveside service to follow at the Fairview Cemetery in Memphis, Texas.
Viewing will be held Monday at the funeral home.
Arrangements are by Robertson Funeral Directors of Memphis.
Whimpy was born in Harrel Chapel on May 7, 1935 to Leroy Widener and Ima Pearl Phillips Widener. He grew up and attended school in Memphis his entire childhood. He married his high school sweet heart Dorcille Stargel on August 23, 1956 in Memphis, where they then raised and chased 5 rowdy boys. He immediately began farming and ranching out of high school in the surrounding area and once he grew up and had his boys, they grew up farming, too. He also worked for the county for 20 years until his retirement. Another true love of Whimpy’s was raising quarter horses and traveling far and wide for his boys to compete in 4-H and AQHA shows. In his later years, he got a lot of enjoyment out of watching all his grands and great-grands that he called his little “ring tailed tooters”. He took great pride in taking care of his yard and pecan trees and also loved traveling to camp in his camper trailer with his wife. When Whimpy was home, you could always count on walking into the house and finding him in his chair watching his favorite shows, especially his RFD TV. Anyone who knew Whimpy should know the answer to “What was his favorite color?”. He made sure any and everything that could be red, was red!
He is preceded in death by his parents; 1 sister, Joyce Ward; and one friend, Gayle Monzingo, who was like a brother to Whimpy.
He is survived by his wife Dorcille, of Memphis, Tx; 5 sons, Cliff Widener of Ada, OK., Tim Widener of Memphis, Tx., Jeff and wife Jennifer Widener of Memphis, Tx., Jade Widener of Memphis, Tx., Ben and Jane Widener of Wellfleet, NE.; 1 sister, Linda Sue Foxhall; 3 brothers, Donald Widener of Ft. Worth, Tx., Mike Widener of Clyde, Tx., and Rick Widener of Bryan, Tx.; 18 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; 1 great great-grandchild; and 2 special friends who were extremely near to his heart, Blackie and Shirley Johnson.
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