In Memory of Mike Whiteman

On April 8, we lost our dad, Mike Whiteman, unexpectedly following a series of medical and health complications.

Mike had been working for the past two decades as an outside contractor of carpentry at Saint Raphael’s Hospital in New Haven - this was the predominant source of income for his family. Mike had been out of work since October due to various health concerns prior to his passing and spent his final months in the hospital. Our mom, his wife of 44 years, Jami Whiteman, was by his side every day.

If you knew Mike, you know he was a proud, honest, and hard-working man, never one to ask for help if he thought he could do it himself. He worked hard and labored manually his whole life, a work he whole-heartedly loved. As we held our dad’s calloused hands in his final moments with us, we couldn’t help but think about all of the hard work they’d done over his lifetime to provide for his family.

Thirty-six years ago, he built our family home with those two hands and a lot of love (and some help from his beloved friends, many of whom he still held dearly). And while repairs have been made along the way, some of the infrastructure has recently started failing. He always had several projects ongoing and unfinished, but unfortunately, many have laid dormant while he tried to address his health, now leaving his family to make the necessary repairs to be able to stay in the house.

The carpentry business has had its ups and downs, and even when our parents had very little, they would go out of their way to put others' needs before their own. Several years in a row, our father helped raise money to purchase Thanksgiving turkeys for a local food pantry. Working in New Haven for so many years, he had several people in need to whom he would consistently contribute. Jami has spent much of the past two and half decades working as a paraprofessional for children with special needs in the Monroe middle schools. Our parents were always quick to jump in to help anyone in need. They knew, and showed us by example that true empathy and humility were important life skills.

Learning to live without Mike will be extremely difficult for anyone who knew him. He will no longer be there to light up a room with a story or a joke, but the most acute impact will be felt by his immediate family who relied on him deeply, especially Jami.

If you can, we humbly ask that you help support Jami in the wake of this unexpected loss in our dad's memory.