Carla Nadine Whitham's Obituary
Carla Nadine (Waters) Whitham, our loving wife, mom, grandma, daughter, sister, aunt and friend passed away at the age of 73, at her home in Taylorsville, Utah on Friday, September 24, 2010 of cancer. She was born January 24, 1937 in Romeo, Colorado on her Grandma and Pap’s ranch to Raymond Keith Richardson and Enid LaMar Barton. Carla was the first of five children and was nicknamed “Jitterbug” by her dad, unless she was in trouble, then it was “Teen.” She was the loving and caring mother to six children. Carla is survived by her husband, Ellis Skip Whitham, Salt Lake City, Utah; her mother, Enid Richardson, Fernley, Nevada; her children, Mike Waters, Durango, Colorado; Vickie Waters Hager (Sam) Cortez, Colorado; Kim Waters Giesler (Dennis) Cortez, Colorado; David Waters (Lana) Cortez, Colorado; Lori Waters Osborn (Steven) Capitan, NM; her brothers Gary Richardson, Somis, California; Morris Richardson (Dena) Tucson, Arizona; her sisters Lynnda Haskins (Don) Salt Lake City, Utah; Debby Hoopes (David) Fernley, Nevada; fourteen grandchildren, one great-grand daughter and many nieces and nephews. Carla is preceded in death by her Daddy; her loving son, Richard Lee Waters; and her nephew, Morris Richardson. Carla attended school in Alamosa, Colorado where she completed the eleventh grade at Alamosa High. She later earned her GED in Salt Lake City, Utah. As a child she sometimes found herself in a pickle. Before she was sixteen, Carla took a joy ride in her daddy’s car and unfortunately wound up in court because she didn’t have a driver’s license. Her Daddy refused to go to court with her but along with her Uncle Leonard, made sure to torment her about the consequences of what she had done. She said she never knew who paid her fine but suspected it was Daddy. Her two brothers say Carla introduced them to cigarettes at a very young age and on one occasion they almost burned the chicken coop down. Imagine three young kids vigorously using rags to put the fire out. Carla married Richard (Dick) Waters on August 29, 1953. She joined Dick in Germany where he was stationed with the Army in April 1955, with her oldest son, Mike. They returned home just before Rich, her second son, was born in September 1956. As four more children soon followed, her patience and coping skills as the mother of six children were regularly tested. Like the time Rich literally threw Mike through their closed bedroom door after one of their disagreements; or Kim and David hiding from their Granny until their Mom was called home from work to organize the search. It wasn’t as much fun for Kim and David once she finally found them giggling in the closet. Vickie’s clothes could be found between her mattresses she did not want to iron them. And the time Lori came home on a three wheeler completely covered in mud, only to be stripped down by her Mom and sprayed down with a garden hose before she was allowed in the house. Dick and Carla later divorced in November 1992. Spending time with her mother, sisters and brothers was another thing Carla loved. They had great fun together and even better stories to tell after traveling to Disneyland with the kids, to the Redwoods, Big Sur, and Shasta Lake in California, as well as numerous other places. One of their favorite annual events was to volunteer at a car show called Kool April Nights in Redding, California. Once their hard work at the car show was done they would enjoy a good time on a houseboat out on Shasta Lake. Carla also enjoyed lottery tickets and playing the slot machines wherever she could find a casino—even resorting to grocery stores while visiting her mom in Fernley, Nevada. Her brothers and sisters say when they would go to Scolari’s Market in Fernley, Carla could always be found at one of the slot machines leaving them to do the shopping. Carla worked very hard throughout her entire life and took great pride in everything she did. For many years she prepared meals for children at Mesa Elementary and Kemper Elementary Schools in Cortez, Colorado. As the co-owner of New Horizons Sign Company, Carla worked on numerous highway projects in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona. In September, 1997 she moved to Salt Lake City, Utah and began work at the Levelor Window Blind Factory. In 2000 she was exceptionally proud to be hired by the State of Utah Department of Highway Patrol as a dispatcher in the control room at the State Capitol Building. She later transferred to the Rampton Building, where she retired from in August, 2010. Carla loved working at the Rampton and was cherished and loved by her co-workers; many referred to her as “mom” because she always had kind words and cared for everyone she worked with. It also didn’t hurt to have a wonderful candy dish fully stocked for her coworkers. On May 20, 2000 Carla married Ellis Skip Whitham in Mesquite, Nevada and for their honeymoon travelled to Hawaii, spending time in Honolulu and the island of Kawaii. She had always wanted to visit Hawaii and this was one of her most favorite trips. Carla loved to play golf with Skip and her family, although she didn’t pick up the hobby easily. She used to refer to golf as “pasture pool.” She also loved fishing and enjoyed may other hobbies, such as crocheting, crafting holiday wreaths, ceramic dolls, baking Christmas candy and cookies. Her grandkids especially looked forward to the holidays when they received their box of goodies that Grandma spent many hours lovingly preparing. As the grandkids left home to work or go to college, they could expect a care package to arrive for their enjoyment. Grandma Enid wrote and created a family Book of Remembrance that Carla joyfully helped her mother, sisters and niece organize and illustrate the book. One of Carla’s greatest loves and frustrations was the Denver Broncos. She loved to cheer on her Broncos every Sunday through the football season. No one was more disappointed than she was after each of their three Super Bowl losses or more excited when they finally won their back-to-back Super Bowls. Her frustration—and stubbornness—was best demonstrated when she refused to eat the celebration cake at the Super Bowl party when the Broncos played the Giants; she had anticipated a win only to have the game end in a miserable defeat. One of her most common phrases at the time was “That damn Elway.” She loved him but wasn’t afraid to let him have it when he was disappointing her. In October, 2009 Carla traveled to Denver to attend her very first football game at Invesco Field At Mile High between the Broncos and the Cowboys. Although it was a very cold game, she stuck it out to watch her beloved Broncos beat the Cowboys in the last few minutes of the game. So it was all worth it in the end. The spring of 2009 was an exceptionally busy time for Carla. In April, 2009 Carla attended her grand daughter Jentri’s wedding ceremony to Evan Young in Belize. She most enjoyed the day of the wedding—getting hair and makeup done with the bride while laughing about life and sharing such a special time. Then in May, she attended her grandson Jarin’s college graduation in Dover, Delaware where she sat in the pouring rain to watch him receive his degree. Before the graduation, Carla spent the day with daughter Kim sightseeing in Washington D.C. She wanted to see our nation’s capitol first and then the Lincoln, Jefferson and Roosevelt Memorials. She was in awe of Gettysburg as well and enjoyed shopping for special trinkets to bring back home to Skip. She later said these trips were the highlight of her summer. Although small in stature, Carla’s spirit and will was unstoppable. She fought cancer with fierce courage, incredible strength and everlasting grace. She leaves behind a family that will miss her with those same forces. Carla always said she was proud of her children; she considered it an honor to be their mom and was so glad she was chosen to be. Her grand children and great granddaughter were her pride and joy and she spoke of them tirelessly. She loved her family unconditionally and was always there whenever any one of us needed, asking nothing in return. It was a great comfort to our family, and also to Carla, to have her Mother Enid there to guide us with seemingly endless strength, grace and faith throughout Carla’s illness and passing. If there are angels on earth, Enid is one, and another is Lynnda. Lynnda cared for her sister tirelessly during this time. Carla was also grateful for her wonderful friends at the Rampton Building and the Utah Highway Patrol. Their continuous thoughtfulness and kind gestures were genuinely appreciated—by both Carla and her family. Mom’s strength and love from above will carry us through difficult times to come. We love you deeply Mom; rest in peace.
Memorial Services held Friday, October 1, 2010 at 4:00 p.m. at the LDS Chapel located at 4800 S. 1350 W., Taylorsville, Utah 84123.
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