Benjamin J. Whitehouse

Benjamin J. Whitehouse, formerly of Newton Twp., died Wednesday evening at the Gino J. Merli Veterans Center, Scranton. His first wife, Evelyn Bedell Whitehouse, died in 1997. His widow is the former Rita Ulmer, who now resides in Texas.

Born in Taylor, he was the son of the late Benjamin and Emma Bray Whitehouse. He was a 1936 graduate of Newton High School and attended Anthracite Business School and the Wharton School of Business. Before retirement, he was a terminal manager for Matlack Inc. in Northampton. After retirement, he enjoyed helping around Pallman Farms. He was a member of the Countryside Community Church, the Waverly Masonic Lodge 301, F.&A.M., Keystone Consistory and the Irem Temple Shrine. He was a proud Navy veteran, serving aboard the U.S.S. Vogelsang 862 destroyer during World War II.

He loved returning to his orchard in Newton Twp., where he started with one apple tree. He enjoyed singing with several choirs and was well known as a soloist.

Also surviving are a son, Robert J. Whitehouse and wife, Glenda, Liberty Twp., Ohio; two daughters, Sylvia Pallman and husband, Richard, Newton Twp.; and Patricia Slaughter and husband, Carter, Clewiston, Fla.; a brother, George Whitehouse, Emaeus; a sister, Audrey Zeiss, Milwaukee; six grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

He was also preceded in death by a sister, Marion Palmer Dowse.

The funeral service will be held on Monday at 10 a.m. from the Lawrence E. Young Funeral Home, 418 S. State St., Clarks Summit, with services by the Rev. Dr. J. P. Duncan, pastor, Countryside Community Church. Interment will follow in Milwaukee Cemetery.

Friends may call on Sunday from 4 to 7 p.m. at Lawrence E. Young Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Countryside Community Church Building Fund, 14001 Church Hill Road, Clarks Summit, PA 18411; or the Greater PA Chapter, Alzheimer's Association , NE Regional Office, 57 N. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre PA 18701.