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In memory of
Gary Robert Whyte
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In lieu of flowers
In lieu of flowers, consider a gift to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.
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Gary's obituary
Gary was born on January 4, 1930 in Oakland, California to Alex Whyte and Ida Derby. A 1948 graduate of Oakland High School, where he excelled as a baseball pitcher, pitching a perfect game, he signed a contract with the Pacific Coast League’s San Francisco Seals. Gary loved to tell the story of the time he went 1 for 2 against Satchel Paige. He joined the U.S. Army during the Korean War and was given the choice of playing for Army’s baseball team, but turned that opportunity down, wanting to be treated like any other soldier.
After two years, Gary was honorably discharged and attended college on the GI Bill, obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley. Education was important to Gary, and he went on to study law, computer programming, and obtained a Master’s Degree in Business and Economics from California State University, Hayward. He was an avid lover of classical music, a self-taught expert in WWII history, and a movie buff. After a more than 20-year career at Hunt-Wesson in Hayward, running the vinegar making department and the pudding department, the company shut down its Hayward plants. Gary took a couple of other short-term jobs before finishing his working life with Natural Formulas in Hayward.
In 1954, Gary met “the love of my life”, Lillian Falkner, who had also graduated from Oakland High in 1948, but it would be six years after that before they would actually meet. The couple married in 1955 and had three daughters, raising them in Fremont, California where Gary was involved in the AAU swim program, spending meet weekends as a race starter, sometime meet director, and always a cheering dad.
Gary will be loved and missed by wife, Lillian; daughters Katherine Walton, Elizabeth Souza, and Annette Battaglia; sons-in-law Tim Walton, Scott Souza, and Richard Battaglia; nine grandchildren; and fifteen great-grandchildren.
At Gary’s request, no services will be held. Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital or the charity of your choice.
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In lieu of flowers
In lieu of flowers, consider a gift to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.
In lieu of flowers
In lieu of flowers, consider a gift to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.
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