Dorothy Jackson Whisnant

Dorothy Jackson Whisnant, 99, of Mecklenburg County died Sunday, Dec. 17, 2006.

She was born Sept. 16, 1907, at Point Lookout in Henderson County, the daughter of the late Virgil Ernest Jackson and Leora Blackwell Jackson. Following her mother's death in 1914, she made her primary home with her maternal aunt and uncle, the late Cynthia Blackwell and T.E. Summerrow Sr. of Gastonia. She was a 1926 graduate of Gastonia High School, where she was a member of the Glee Club and editor of the Spinner. A 1928 graduate of Asheville Normal and Teachers College, she began her teaching career as a fifth-grade teacher at Dana School in Dana. After her marriage in 1932 to the late Mallard R. Whisnant, she became a resident of Mecklenburg County, where she lived the remainder of her life. She was a loyal member of the First Baptist Church for 74 years and a member of the church choir and soprano soloist. She was also preceded in death by her stepson, Frank L. Whisnant; and her sister, Mabel Jane Martin.

She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, retired Army Maj. Gen. Charles J. and Shirley R. Whisnant of Terrell and their children, Karen Johnson and husband, Jeffrey, and Susan Heckel and husband, David, of Chapel Hill and Charles J Whisnant Jr. and wife, Diane, of Denver, N.C.; her daughter and son-in-law, Anne and Ben Bolch of Nashville, Tenn., and their daughter, Suzanne and husband, Michael Lyster, of Toronto; her grandchildren, the children of the late Frank L. Whisnant, Carolyn W. Lucado and Frank L. Whisnant Jr. of Greenville, S.C., and Beverly W. Allen of Lexington, S.C.; 14 great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren.

A graveside funeral will be held at 1 p.m. today at Sharon Memorial Park in Charlotte. Dr. Mark Harris will officiate. Friends are invited to visit following the service today at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel, 6023 Park South Drive, Charlotte.