Alta Whitaker

Alta Kathyrn (Vammen) Whitaker, age 82, passed away on Friday, March 20, 2009, at the Inverness Village in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, March 25, 2009 in the sanctuary of the Redeemer Lutheran Church with Pastor Mark Carter. Funeral arrangements and interment are under the direction of Neekamp-Luginbuel Funeral Home. Visitation for Mrs. Whitaker will held in the Neekamp-Luginbuel Funeral Home on Monday and Tuesday, March 23rd and 24th from 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. Online condolences may be left for the Whitaker family at www.honoringmemories.com. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions in Alta's name can be made to Oaks Indian Center, P.O. Box 130, Oaks, OK 74359; Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3700 SE Woodland Road, Bartlesville, OK 74006, Inverness Village, 3800 West 71st Street, Tulsa, OK 74132, or Grace Hospice P.O. Box 33234, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74153-1234. Alta was the sixth child born to Pastor Christian and Tomina (Neve) Vammen. In 1924, her parents, immigrants from Denmark, began serving as missionaries to the Cherokee Indians in Oaks, Oklahoma, where Alta enjoyed her childhood with her three sisters, three brothers and 35 to 40 Oaks Indian Mission children, whom they also considered their brothers and sisters. After graduating from Oaks High School in 1943, Alta attended Northeastern Oklahoma College in Tahlequah and graduated in 1947 with a Diploma Degree in Nursing from the University of Oklahoma. She began her nursing career at the University Hospital in Oklahoma City. While attending Oklahoma University, she met her husband, the late Fred Whitaker Jr. They were united in marriage on July 8, 1950. Alta served as the Head Nurse of Surgery at Jane Phillips Hospital in Bartlesville, Oklahoma until her retirement in 1979. Alta, with her quiet and mild spirit, loved observing nature; she especially enjoyed watching birds. She expressed this love of nature in her artwork, which included painting and sculpting clay. She also enjoyed golfing, sailing, and traveling with Fred, family, and friends. Alta was a member of the Redeemer Lutheran Church for 43 years and was active in the LWML Women's group. She was a member of Hillcrest Country Club and the Coves at Bird Island. Alta is survived by one son, Frederic Whitaker III, and Maria of San Diego, CA, two daughters, Joan Webb and her husband Lovell of Detroit, MI, and Judy Toman and her husband Scott of Broken Arrow, OK, three sisters, Priscilla Kough of Milwaukee, WI, Ardis Jacobson and her husband Richard of Oklahoma City, OK, Dorcas Leighton and her husband Forrest of Columbia, Missouri, one brother Dr. Reuel Vammen and his wife Lynne of Texarkana, AR, one sister-in-law, Juanita Vammen, four grandchildren Ryan Toman, Lovell Webb, Joel Webb, and Catherine Whitaker. Alta was very fond of her family, including twenty-six nieces and nephews, a devoted friend, Salley Storey and the caregivers from Inverness Village and the Grace Hospice in Tulsa. Alta was preceded in death by her husband Frederic Whitaker Jr., her parents Christian and Tomina Vammen, two brothers Dr. Adolph Vammen and Dr. Warren Vammen. Alta touched many lives with her graceful spirit, and she will be missed by a loving family, life-long friends, and numerous acquaintances.

Service Details

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 11:00am, Redeemer Lutheran Church

Interment Details

Memorial Park Cemetery Bartlesville