Obituary of Dawn O'Rae Whitney

It is with sadness we announce the death of Dawn Whitney on 30 June 2023 at her home in Homedale, Idaho. Dawn is survived by her sons Sean Riddle with his four children and three grandchildren, Tom Rodmaker with his eight children and six grandchildren, Scott Riddle Whitney with his five children and seven grandchildren, and Porter Whitney with his three children.

            Dawn was born in Bellevue, Idaho in 1946 and grew up in different mining towns. After graduating from Hailey High School, she briefly attended Utah State University before becoming an Air Force wife and following her husband to different duty stations. In California, she remarried and moved with her husband to different places in Southern California, Jordan Valley, Oregon, and Homedale, Idaho.

            In her life, she has done many things. She worked as a dog groomer, which helped her later in life by making it possible to save money on cutting her boy’s hair. She was also a kid’s bowling league coach for many years. She spent many years as an early-morning seminary teacher. She also worked as a city treasurer, bowling league officer, and library board member and officer. 

            Of all the things she has done in life, the things she is most remembered for are being mom and Grammy. Her grandkids remember going to Grammy’s house and having confetti parties, working in the yard, bowling, going to the hot springs, sailing on a sailboat, reading and telling stories, and playing games. She has touched the lives of many people in many ways and will be greatly missed.