- Date Of Birth: May 10, 1933
- Date Of Death: January 13, 2022
- State: Alabama
Thursday, January 13, 2022, saw the passing of Irene Elaine Willhite (nee Powell) widow of Ernest T Willhite of Eminence, KY. Daughter of Catherine and Guy John Powell. She was born May 10, 1933, in Lynn, Essex, MA.
Ms. Willhite is survived by her sons, David Earnest, Stephen Alan, Kenneth Paul, and James John Willhite. Her daughter, Patricia Lynn Chandler was deceased. Irene had, as well, seven grandchildren; Andrew and Matthew Chandler, and Jackson, Rhiannon, Amanda, Jimi and Amelia Willhite; and seven great-grandchildren.
In 1952 Ms. Willhite graduated from Lynn English High School, Lynn, Massachusetts, and began attending Eastern Kentucky University where she met her husband, Ernest. He then served four years in the U.S. Air Force, she serving as a dedicated wife of an active-duty airman. Not long after his discharge, they moved with their children to Huntsville, Alabama.
In conjunction with her church, Ms. Willhite managed a Project Discovery local program designed to assist in educating underprivileged youth in the early to mid-1960s, she also taught at Stone Junior High School in Huntsville from 1967 to 1973.
She enrolled in the liberal arts program at the University of Alabama at Huntsville (UAH) in 1983, graduating in 1989 after completing her undergraduate studies with a double-major in history and political science. She also obtained a graduate degree in public policy.
In 1987 she began working at the Madison County Legislative Office where she remained until 1994. In 1994 she began work as the archivist of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center where she later also assumed the duties of curator. In this capacity, she produced two books.
Author of: Claiming the High Ground – The Army and America’s First Satellite,
Apogee Books, Canada, July 2008, ISBN: 978-1-894959-75-9
Editor of: The Voice of Dr. Wernher von Braun: An Anthology,
Apogee Books Space Series, Canada, May 1, 2007
Ms. Willhite can be heard discussing her lifelong passion, space exploration in a radio interview; The Space Show, from September 13, 2007 Broadcast 774 (Special Edition)
