Paul Whitaker

Paul Dean Whitaker, 72, passed away July 7, 2016 in Englewood, Colorado following his
second courageous battle with cancer in 4 years. He was born in Denver, Colorado on
December 10, 1943 to Dorothy Ruth (Sharp) Whitaker of South Dakota and Paul B. Whitaker of
Wyoming. He was their only child. When Paul was 2, they moved to Englewood on South Logan
Street until he married Joanne Wheeler on July 3, 1968. They just celebrated their 48th wedding
anniversary. Paul is survived by his wife Joanne, their three children Allen (Elizabeth), Christina
(Stephen), and Andrew (MaryGrace) and four wonderful grandchildren Alex, AnnaLeah,
Jessica , and David, all residents of Englewood, Colorado. Paul had 16 maternal aunts and
uncles and is survived by two, Josephine (Sharp) Moon (WA) and Ernie Sharp (SD) with a
multitude of cousins. He is preceded in death by his parents Dorothy and Paul B. Whitaker.
A graduate of Englewood High School, Paul went on to study at Colorado State University
(CSU) and at Denver University(DU). He worked with his father Paul B. at their machine shop,
eventually becoming the sole owner. Paul filled many roles for the shop, including: owner,
accountant, machinist, computer programmer, and many others. He retired in 2006.
Paul's biggest hobby and passion was Amateur Radio (Ham Radio). He became involved with
ARRL, the national association for amateur radio 48 years ago. His call sign is WA0YGQ. He
went to many field days all over the state, many of which were camping trips in the mountains.
His last field day that he participated in was this past June 25th. His fellow ham radio operators
presented him with a plaque for his service in February 2016 for his outstanding contributions to
the Colorado Traffic League, the National Traffic System, and the Amateur Radio Community.
He spoke to other operators all over the world and has hundreds of postcards that indicate
contact. Paul was also a proctor for administering amateur radio licensing tests. He so believed
in his community that he got his Civilian Emergency Response Team (CERT) North Central
Region training from the Englewood Police Department and later became a participant in the
CERT testing process for others. His hope was to be able to use his CERT training and ham
radio knowledge to help others in need.
Memorial services for Paul will be held at All Souls Catholic Church at 4950 S. Logan Street in
Englewood. A rosary will be said at 1pm. The funeral mass is at 2pm followed by a reception at
the church. Please join his family in celebrating the life of Paul D. Whitaker.
Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the ARRL (http://www.arrl.org/memorial-gifts) for
their Education and Technology fund or to the American Cancer Society in Colorado (https://
www.coloradogives.org/acs/overview).