Warren Whitehouse

Niantic — Warren Dana “Whitey” Whitehouse, 78, of Niantic, passed away peacefully on Friday, April 6, 2018, at the Yale New Haven Hospital with his family by his side.

He was born in Newark, N.J., on Feb. 24, 1940, the son of Stanley Whitehouse and Veronica (Saunders) Whitehouse, but spent most of his childhood with his late uncle and aunt, Eugene and Winifred Schultz of New London. He was a 1958 graduate of New London High School, joined the Connecticut Army National Guard and remained a member of the reserves unit serving his state and his country for a total of 30 years including active duty in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

He married Virginia Rovella, his wife of 52 years, on June 12, 1965. In addition to Ginny, he is survived by two sons, Scott Whitehouse and his wife Laura of Newton, Mass., and Stephen Whitehouse and his wife Lisa of Waterford; two grandchildren, Cole Vincent Whitehouse and Amelia Virginia Whitehouse; cousin Eugene Schultz Jr. and his late wife Joan Schultz; and three nieces and two nephews.

Whitey worked at Electric Boat in Groton for 44 years retiring in 2002, but his true passions were his positions as an Eastern Connecticut Board football official and East Lyme High School JV softball coach. He loved the camaraderie of being on the field and in the timing booth with his football colleagues and, in his 28 years with the softball program, he was known around the state as one of the most dedicated and fun-loving coaches in the game.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 14, at St. Agnes Church, 22 Haigh Ave., Niantic. Interment will be private. The family will receive relatives and friends from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, April 13, at the Thomas L. Neilan & Sons East Lyme Funeral Home, 48 Grand St., Niantic.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in his name to The Fund for Yale New Haven Hospital, PO Box 1849, New Haven, CT; The Prostate Cancer Foundation, 1250 Fourth Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401; or Nurturing Minds (a school that Whitey visited and supported for poor girls in Tanzania), PO Box 600617, Newtonville, MA 02460.

Condolences may be shared on Whitey’s memorial page at www.neilanfuneralhome.com.