Ronald M. Whittum, 82

VERO BEACH, FL — Ronald MacKay Whittum, 82, of Vero Beach, Florida, formerly of Miami, Florida, passed away peacefully, with his wife, Norma by his side, on July 4, 2020, after a difficult battle with Pulmonary Fibrosis.

He was born, on July 26, 1938, in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, to the late Harold T. and Viola (MacKay) Whittum. His parents moved to Laconia, where Ron graduated from Laconia High School. He then attended Keene Teachers College and began his life-long career in education. He began his career teaching in Hopkinton, NH; taught in Wallingford, CT, and ended his career in Miami, Florida, where he spent 40 years working with juvenile offenders. His first position in Florida was with the with the Jan Mann Opportunity School (Miami-Dade County) and he was then transferred to the Juvenile Justice Support System. His main role was school department liaison to the Miami-Dade Juvenile Court System, working with high risk juvenile offenders. He received several recognitions as a result of his work with court involved youth. He retired in 2005 and moved to Vero Beach.

While teaching in New Hampshire and Connecticut, he worked summers for the New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Safety Services, as an officer on Lake Winnipesaukee. He was one of the few officers that enjoyed working nights. He also enjoyed any opportunity to instruct boaters on safe boating practices. It was during a conversation with a boater that had broken down, that Ron shared that he was a teacher. The boater told Ron that he was a superintendent of schools in Connecticut. He was so impressed with Ron, that he asked him to send him his resume. Ron was offered a job on the spot pending his resume being received and approved. That was his interview, and resulted in him teaching in Connecticut for two years, before moving to Florida.

While he was teaching in Hopkinton, NH, he met the love of his life, Norma (Heath) Whittum, who was a student teacher, and they were married on July 3, 1965. Their 55th wedding anniversary was the day before his passing. Early on in their relationship and before moving to Florida, Norma and Ron both held summer jobs in the Lakes Region. It was during this time that they began to relish thoughts of lake island life and purchased property on Cow Island, on Winnipesaukee.

Their camp on Cow Island became Ron’s and Norma’s refuge from the City of Miami. Everyone was always welcome at the camp, no matter how many trips Ron would have to make in his boat to pick-up visitors at the mainland dock.

He will always be remembered for his patience; his kind and gentle manner; his work ethic; his great sense of humor and his acts of kindness, whether it was bringing one of the juvenile offenders, he was working with, to New Hampshire, to experience a different lifestyle, or bringing an injured stray cat to the veterinarian for medical attention and then adopting it.

He had a zest for life and always found the good in everything and the humor in almost everything! He enjoyed his nieces and nephews and was very adept at making them laugh.

He was predeceased by his parents and by an older brother, Harold T. Whittum, Jr. He is survived by his wife, Norma, and by three siblings: Hope MacDonald of Wolfeboro, NH; Donald (Sylvia) Whittum of Farmington, NH, and Douglas Whittum of Laconia, NH, and his significant other, Kathy. He also has several nieces and nephews, which he loved and enjoyed immensely.

As per his wishes, there will be no services or calling hours.

Anyone who wishes may make a contribution to his/her favorite charity or to the H.T. Whittum Memorial Scholarship in care of the Lakes Region Scholarship Foundation, 14 Country Club Road, Gilford, New Hampshire.