Felix Elbert Whitaker came to Weslaco the first time to help W.T. Ellis make his move to the Valley. Mr. Whitaker was impressed enough by what he saw here to return to Tushka, OK., gather his family and his belongings in 1922 and return to Weslaco in a covered wagon. It took a month for them to make the trip, stopping three times a day and early in the evening. The sons had great fun each time they stopped, exploring things along the roadside. One time they discovered a river flowing about 1/4 mile underground. Mr. Whitaker became a very successful farmer and citrus grower and citrus nurseryman. His wife, Rose Etta Dunn, their three sons: Floyd Delmer, Roby Leon and Ernest Austin and their two daughters, Wilma Mae and Edith Elaine were all pioneers of Weslaco. The first five years they were in Weslaco the Whitaker's rented a farm with a house on it located on Mile 6 W and 14 N. Then they bought the place on mile 4-3/4 West and mile 13 North. Leon and Doris still living there.
F.E. Whitaker, Weslaco citrus grower and farmer, died at 1:15 a.m. today Dec 8, 1964 in Knapp Methodist Hospital. He was 77. A resident of the area for 42 years, he was associated with early efforts resulting in organization of the Valley Farm Bureau and in the Rio Grande Valley Citrus Exchange, which later became the TexSun Corp. He was a member of the First Baptist Church and a native of Lee Co. Miss. Services are pending and will be announced by the Weldon Martin Funeral Home. Survivors include the wife, Mrs. Rose Etta Whitaker; three sons, Floyd, Leon and Ernest Whitaker, all of Weslaco; two daughters, Mrs. Oskar Salge of Edinburg and Mrs. Morton Brewer of Hugoton, Kan.; 11 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Also surviving are a brother, J.H. Whitaker of Tushka, OK., and a sister, Mrs. J.M. Garrison of Ceres, Calif.
F.E. Whitaker, Weslaco citrus grower and farmer, died at 1:15 a.m. today Dec 8, 1964 in Knapp Methodist Hospital. He was 77. A resident of the area for 42 years, he was associated with early efforts resulting in organization of the Valley Farm Bureau and in the Rio Grande Valley Citrus Exchange, which later became the TexSun Corp. He was a member of the First Baptist Church and a native of Lee Co. Miss. Services are pending and will be announced by the Weldon Martin Funeral Home. Survivors include the wife, Mrs. Rose Etta Whitaker; three sons, Floyd, Leon and Ernest Whitaker, all of Weslaco; two daughters, Mrs. Oskar Salge of Edinburg and Mrs. Morton Brewer of Hugoton, Kan.; 11 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Also surviving are a brother, J.H. Whitaker of Tushka, OK., and a sister, Mrs. J.M. Garrison of Ceres, Calif.
Felix Elbert Whitaker came to Weslaco the first time to help W.T. Ellis make his move to the Valley. Mr. Whitaker was impressed enough by what he saw here to return to Tushka, OK., gather his family and his belongings in 1922 and return to Weslaco in a covered wagon. It took a month for them to make the trip, stopping three times a day and early in the evening. The sons had great fun each time they stopped, exploring things along the roadside. One time they discovered a river flowing about 1/4 mile underground. Mr. Whitaker became a very successful farmer and citrus grower and citrus nurseryman. His wife, Rose Etta Dunn, their three sons: Floyd Delmer, Roby Leon and Ernest Austin and their two daughters, Wilma Mae and Edith Elaine were all pioneers of Weslaco. The first five years they were in Weslaco the Whitaker's rented a farm with a house on it located on Mile 6 W and 14 N. Then they bought the place on mile 4-3/4 West and mile 13 North. Leon and Doris still living there.
F.E. Whitaker, Weslaco citrus grower and farmer, died at 1:15 a.m. today Dec 8, 1964 in Knapp Methodist Hospital. He was 77. A resident of the area for 42 years, he was associated with early efforts resulting in organization of the Valley Farm Bureau and in the Rio Grande Valley Citrus Exchange, which later became the TexSun Corp. He was a member of the First Baptist Church and a native of Lee Co. Miss. Services are pending and will be announced by the Weldon Martin Funeral Home. Survivors include the wife, Mrs. Rose Etta Whitaker; three sons, Floyd, Leon and Ernest Whitaker, all of Weslaco; two daughters, Mrs. Oskar Salge of Edinburg and Mrs. Morton Brewer of Hugoton, Kan.; 11 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Also surviving are a brother, J.H. Whitaker of Tushka, OK., and a sister, Mrs. J.M. Garrison of Ceres, Calif.
F.E. Whitaker, Weslaco citrus grower and farmer, died at 1:15 a.m. today Dec 8, 1964 in Knapp Methodist Hospital. He was 77. A resident of the area for 42 years, he was associated with early efforts resulting in organization of the Valley Farm Bureau and in the Rio Grande Valley Citrus Exchange, which later became the TexSun Corp. He was a member of the First Baptist Church and a native of Lee Co. Miss. Services are pending and will be announced by the Weldon Martin Funeral Home. Survivors include the wife, Mrs. Rose Etta Whitaker; three sons, Floyd, Leon and Ernest Whitaker, all of Weslaco; two daughters, Mrs. Oskar Salge of Edinburg and Mrs. Morton Brewer of Hugoton, Kan.; 11 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Also surviving are a brother, J.H. Whitaker of Tushka, OK., and a sister, Mrs. J.M. Garrison of Ceres, Calif.
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