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FITCHBURG- John Lloyd Whitney of Westminster Street, Fitchburg, quietly passed away at home on the morning of Aug. 3, 2012, at the end of a year-long struggle with lung cancer.
Born Dec. 30, 1960, John was the fifth of six sons and sixth of seven children to Lester and Phyllis Whitney of Amherst. If growing up in a family of nine can ever be considered normal, John's childhood was exactly so, with the annual pilgrimage to the family seaside cottage in Harrington, Maine, at the epicenter. Guard Point had no electricity or telephone, but it had everything else that seven active children considered essential for fun, adventure and many, many years of memories. John was able to visit Guard Point again this summer in the company of his younger brother Steven and wife Suzanne on a couple of trips that brought him tremendous joy and not a few meals with steamed clams at the top of the menu.
The major event of John's childhood that made a lifelong impression on him was a 7 month sabbatical stay in England and Europe in 1973. The cathedrals, palaces, architecture, museums, history and art that surrounded the Whitney family everywhere they turned found fertile ground in John's 12 year old imagination.
After John graduated from Amherst Regional High School in 1979, he chose to attend the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. and, with great deliciousness, graduated in 1981. Although he did not work long-term in the restaurant industry, his love of great food and good cooking continued long past when the chemo took away his appetite-- he still loved to have involved conversations about favorite recipes.
In the mid-1980's, John started hand carving, first wood, then soft stone, and thus was born 'Gothic Traditions.' John and his brother Dean carved and reproduced gargoyle-styled garden and home decorative sculptures for several years, first at Dean's home in Rindge, N.H., then in a rented studio in Jaffrey, N.H., which then moved to Leominster with a new partner, Kevin Millea of Fitchburg. The sculptures ranged from 3' -3', and all had a touch of John's wry sense of humor. During this time there were several newspaper articles published about the company, one of which highlighted an oversize chess set created as a fundraiser for the Sharon Arts Center in Peterborough, N.H.
Although Gothic Traditions came to an end, John's love of carving did not, and he created a series of wood panels referred to (in architecture) as 'linen fold,' which were featured in an article published by 'Woodworker's Journal' in November/December 1992. John's last project was completed in September 2011, a beautiful carved granite and field stone creation which serves as the headstone memorial for his father, Lester, who died in 2008. John's ashes will rest there eventually.
In 1991, John met Patricia Desmond of Fitchburg. Together they owned an 1857 farmhouse in Fitchburg and spent many happy years there. Over time, the house has been renovated, the barn made over, and an outside landscape for John's gargoyles lovingly created, complete with his pride and joy-- a fish pond. John and Patty were married in the back yard in April 1996. The back yard was also the personal kingdom of 'Dusty,' who, according to John, is the 'very best dog in the world-- ever!' Dusty feels exactly the same about John, too.
During his years in Fitchburg, John worked at 'Tri-City Home Improvements' of Fitchburg, 'For The Love of Tile' in Westminster and 'MJM Building and Tile' in Lunenburg. His skills and knowledge grew in direct proportion to that of his employers and skilled co-workers, to whom he was always very grateful.
John was generous to a fault, primarily with his time, hard work and expertise. If there was a big (or small) project to be found anywhere, one could always count on John to be there-- with tools. He helped his parents when they converted two small bedrooms into a single large room; when they re-modeled their kitchen a few years later, John was there. John would accept no remuneration for his time or labor, so Lester and Phyllis flew with John and Patty to England in 2000, where they were able to visit some of John's favorite childhood haunts from that trip 27 years earlier, and together found some new ones as well.
John's general contracting expertise was more recently put to the test at his brother Scott's house in South Deerfield when the daylight basement was converted, the bedroom remodeled, and a new bathroom created. No trip to England this time, but the lobster dinners on Labor Day went a good ways towards settling the score. Of course, all that 'good will' melted away when the croquet set came out, and the brothers Whitney went at their 'Extreme Croquet Tournaments' with true Whitney spirit, not to mention a little 'blue' language and some old-fashioned croquet 'poison.'
John was, in many ways, a simple man who simply loved his wife, his family, his friends, his animals, his work and his art. He was infinitely kind and considerate, and from the day his father died four years ago, he called his mother virtually every evening. He was loved by many, and will be missed by all.
John is survived by his wife, Patty of Fitchburg; his mother, Phyllis of Amherst; sister, Marcia of Cumberland, Maine; brothers, Mark of Amherst, Scott and wife Kathy of South Deerfield, Dean and wife Karla of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, David and wife Kristin of Evergreen, Colo., and Steven and wife Suzanne of Loudonville, N.Y. John will also be missed by his four nephews and nieces and Patty's sister Judy and husband Andy Koski.
Visiting hours will be held Friday, Aug. 10 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Brandon Funeral Home, 305 Wanoosnoc Rd., Fitchburg. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Humane Society, The HSUS Dept MEMIT9, 2100 L St. NW, Washington, DC 20037 or the ASPCA, 424 East 92nd Street, New York, NY 10128.
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