In Memory
Thad Floyd Whitinger
Thad Floyd Whitinger, 84 years old, of South Bend, Indiana passed away the morning of Saturday, January 6, 2024. He was born on February 6, 1939, in South Bend, Indiana to the late John William and Elizabeth Adeline (Priebe) Whitinger. Thad is also preceded in death by 2 sons, Scott and Dan; and 4 siblings, John William Whitinger, and Mary Ellen Lievensee, Jean Reiter, Betty Ann Chrzan.
Thad was united in marriage to Amelia Sue Hintz on August 8, 1959, in South Bend. He is survived by Amelia as well as 2 children, David Kent (Carol) Whitinger and Susann Elaine (Dennis) Weaver; 2 sisters, Nancy Crawford, and Connie Joyce Baird; 8 grandchildren, Amanda (Ben) Hanson, Joseph (Megan) Weaver, Rebecca (Joel) Arnold, Matthew (Kaleigh) Weaver, Catherine (Brooks) Hitzfield, Ben (Kaitlyn) Weaver, Chris Weaver, and Jesse (Elena) Whitinger; and 17 great-grandchildren, Ruth Whitinger, Ezra Whitinger, Maverick Arnold, Reagan Arnold, Addisyn Arnold, Remington Arnold, Natalie Weaver, Lilly Weaver, Everlie Jo Weaver, Josie Hanson, Sadie Hanson, Ramie Hanson, Titus Hanson, Annisyn Hanson, Logan Weaver, Reece Weaver, and Thomas Hitzfield.
Thad attended South Bend Central High School and Acme School of Tool & Die Design. He went on to work as a design and assembly process engineer at Ford Motor Company. While dealing with difficulty at work, he would often say “You only have to solve a problem once and then it isn’t a problem, it is a solution”.
“We feel blessed that we have been able to travel in almost 50 states. We had the privilege of going to the Holy Land in 1994, visiting Israel, Greece, and Jordan. Having lived in Florida for 20 years, cruising was easy and fun, so visiting the Caribbean was a favorite. We enjoyed a trip to Germany, Switzerland, and Italy also. While in Switzerland, we visited the family of our exchange student in the Walled City of Solothurn. It was a wonderful experience. In 1997, after his retirement, Thad was selected to go to China with a team from Ford to set up an assembly plant. This was a challenge and an adventure. Once the plant was in full operation, he was sent to work on production for the Windstar in Canada. Final retirement came in 2006.”
The visitation for Thad will be held on Thursday January 11th from 3:00 – 7:00 pm in Hahn Funeral Home 505 W. 8th Street Mishawaka, IN 46544.Funeral services will be held on Friday January 12th at 1:00 PM in the funeral home. Burial will follow in St. Joseph Valley Memorial Gardens.
The family requests in lieu of flowers memorial contributions be made in Thad’s memory to the University of Findlay, Daniel E. Whitinger Soccer Memorial Endowment fund C/O Andy Smyth 1000 N. Main Street Finlay, Ohio.45840
Posted online on January 07, 2024
Published in South Bend Tribune
01/07/2024 EJS
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