Margaret I."Peanut" Whidden
December 19, 1922 ~ November 19, 2019 (age 96) 96 Years Old
Tribute
Margaret Inez “Peanut” Jones Whidden, 96 long-time resident of Kissimmee, Florida, passed away peacefully November 19th, 2019 in St. Cloud, Florida. Peanut was born in Eton, Georgia on December 19th, 1922 to Mary Fields and Horace Jones.
Mr. Jones was a hotel manager and the family moved quite frequently when Peanut was a child. When the family moved to Osceola in 1934, Whidden's father ran the Arcade Hotel, which later became the Brahman Hotel, in downtown Kissimmee. She graduated from Osceola High School in 1940 where she was a cheerleader for all four years and that is where she met her future husband who was a football player.
Peanut married Robert “Cobb” Whidden, later having two sons’ together, Robert (Butch) and Bill Whidden. During WWII, she worked at the U.S. Army Air Corps Air Transport Command at Morrison Field in Palm Beach while Cobb was away serving in the US Navy. After her husband was discharged, they resided in Kissimmee, Florida where she worked at the Makinson’s Hardware Store and Leda Ingram’s clothing store in Downtown Kissimmee. She also was known to many in the county for her years working at The Clothes Tree and Ridenours where she provided guidance for most of the women and young ladies of the county. Most of Peanut’s Sundays were reserved for Church at First United Methodist Church of Kissimmee where she sang in the choir alongside her sister in law Gwen Murphy. Peanut was a charter member of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority which was organized in Osceola County in 1948 with 10 members and was later named "First Lady of Osceola County" by the sorority in 1998.
Peanut is survived by two sons, Robert (Linda) Whidden of Orlando, FL and Bill (Trish) Whidden of Tavares, FL; five grandchildren, Valerie Woodring of St. Cloud FL, Chandra Whidden of Palm Harbor, FL, Jarod (Cindy) Whidden of Florida, NY, Chad (Becky) Whidden of Suffolk, VA, and Alyssa (Carl) Kendall Pasadena, MD; five great-grandchildren, Brandon Wooding of Merritt Island, FL, Kaylin Arellano of Clermont, FL, TJ Whidden of NYC, NY, Addison Whidden of Suffolk, VA, Carter and Logan Kendall of Pasadena, MD and niece, Mary-Lynn Warman of West Palm Beach, FL .
Family will receive friends from 5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. Friday, November 22, 2019 at the Roger C. Thompson Memorial Chapel at Conrad & Thompson Funeral Home.
Graveside service will be held 11:00 A.M. Saturday, November 23, 2019 at Rose Hill Cemetery, 1615 Old Boggy Creek Road, Kissimmee, Florida 34744, with Pastor Jesse Mayes, officiating.
Memorial contribution may be made to Mrs. Peanut's favorite charity: Florida Sheriffs Boys Ranch, 1813 Cecil Webb Place, Live Oak, Florida 32060.
The Whidden family is being cared for by CONRD & THOMPSON FUNERAL HOME, 511 EMMETT STREET, KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA (407)847-3188
Mr. Jones was a hotel manager and the family moved quite frequently when Peanut was a child. When the family moved to Osceola in 1934, Whidden's father ran the Arcade Hotel, which later became the Brahman Hotel, in downtown Kissimmee. She graduated from Osceola High School in 1940 where she was a cheerleader for all four years and that is where she met her future husband who was a football player.
Peanut married Robert “Cobb” Whidden, later having two sons’ together, Robert (Butch) and Bill Whidden. During WWII, she worked at the U.S. Army Air Corps Air Transport Command at Morrison Field in Palm Beach while Cobb was away serving in the US Navy. After her husband was discharged, they resided in Kissimmee, Florida where she worked at the Makinson’s Hardware Store and Leda Ingram’s clothing store in Downtown Kissimmee. She also was known to many in the county for her years working at The Clothes Tree and Ridenours where she provided guidance for most of the women and young ladies of the county. Most of Peanut’s Sundays were reserved for Church at First United Methodist Church of Kissimmee where she sang in the choir alongside her sister in law Gwen Murphy. Peanut was a charter member of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority which was organized in Osceola County in 1948 with 10 members and was later named "First Lady of Osceola County" by the sorority in 1998.
Peanut is survived by two sons, Robert (Linda) Whidden of Orlando, FL and Bill (Trish) Whidden of Tavares, FL; five grandchildren, Valerie Woodring of St. Cloud FL, Chandra Whidden of Palm Harbor, FL, Jarod (Cindy) Whidden of Florida, NY, Chad (Becky) Whidden of Suffolk, VA, and Alyssa (Carl) Kendall Pasadena, MD; five great-grandchildren, Brandon Wooding of Merritt Island, FL, Kaylin Arellano of Clermont, FL, TJ Whidden of NYC, NY, Addison Whidden of Suffolk, VA, Carter and Logan Kendall of Pasadena, MD and niece, Mary-Lynn Warman of West Palm Beach, FL .
Family will receive friends from 5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. Friday, November 22, 2019 at the Roger C. Thompson Memorial Chapel at Conrad & Thompson Funeral Home.
Graveside service will be held 11:00 A.M. Saturday, November 23, 2019 at Rose Hill Cemetery, 1615 Old Boggy Creek Road, Kissimmee, Florida 34744, with Pastor Jesse Mayes, officiating.
Memorial contribution may be made to Mrs. Peanut's favorite charity: Florida Sheriffs Boys Ranch, 1813 Cecil Webb Place, Live Oak, Florida 32060.
The Whidden family is being cared for by CONRD & THOMPSON FUNERAL HOME, 511 EMMETT STREET, KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA (407)847-3188
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