Wesley Earl Whiteside

    Wesley Earl Whiteside, who lived a life of purpose by serving others through his many gifts and talents, died on September 25, 2025 after suffering a stroke. He was 93 and living in Burnsville, Minnesota. Whether he was teaching teens about civics as a 4H extension agent, or building affordable energy-efficient houses as a building contractor, Wes wanted to leave a sustaining legacy.

    He was born on August 28, 1932, to Earl Franklin Whiteside and Bessie Amelia (Miller) Whiteside on their family farm near Chillicothe, Missouri. His family were active members of Liberty United Methodist Church. After graduating from Chillicothe High School in 1950, he attended the University of Missouri, Columbia. During the Korean conflict, he applied and was approved to be a Conscientious Objector. He served with the Brethren Volunteer Service in Casteñer, Puerto Rico, where he helped build and support a rural hospital there.

    While at the University of Missouri, Wes was involved in the Wesley Foundation college ministry. There he met Marilyn J. Forby who followed him to volunteer for a summer in Puerto Rico. He and Marilyn made many lifelong friends both at Wesley Foundation and in Puerto Rico. Marilyn and Wes were married August 28, 1955, in Libertyville, Illinois, and then returned to Columbia Missouri where Wes completed his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture in 1957.

    Wes took a job with the Missouri Extension Service in Harrisonville, Missouri, where he and Marilyn had two daughters. He later worked with 4H youth through the Extension Service in Warrensburg, Missouri. In 1963, he built his first house for his family, and did all the contracting and much of the work. He went on to earn a Masters in Extension Education from the University of Missouri in 1968.

     As Youth Agent, Wes enjoyed helping with fairs, judging livestock, organizing 4H clubs and camps, and even called square dances occasionally. He especially enjoyed taking groups to the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Washington, D.C. to learn about our government. He later moved to Davenport, Iowa, to serve as the Youth Agent there.

     He left Extension in 1974 and, after briefly working as a salesman for grain elevator monitoring systems, he began building houses. As a contractor, he tried to build energy-efficient houses that people could afford. After volunteering to help rebuild south Florida after Hurricane Andrew, he and other volunteer contractors, came back home to help start the Quad Cities chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

     He and Marilyn enjoyed traveling with purpose—to work camps or to learn. They kept in touch with long-time friends and often traveled to visit those friends. In 2014, they moved to MN to be closer to family.

    Wes was preceded in death by his wife of 69 years Marilyn Whiteside, brother Dale Whiteside, and his sister Virginia Lee Jones. He is survived by his two daughters, Shirley Whiteside (Byron Plumley) and Paula Holmes (Ted Holmes), four grand children: Anne Dubler (John), Katie Swartz (Paul), Emily Samsel (William) and Nick Holmes (Katie), seven great grand children, his sister-in-law Marilou Whiteside, and many nieces and nephews.

    Wes will continue his life of education and learning with the priceless donation of his body to University of Minnesota Bequest Program and the Mayo Clinic Brain Bank. Just like Marilyn, this “Missouri Tiger” is now a “Golden Gopher”.

    A graveside service will be held for Wesley and Marilyn Whiteside at Edgewood Cemetery in Chillicothe, MO on April 25th 2026 at 10:30am. A luncheon will take place at Liberty Church after.