Mrs. Lela Faye Whittingham of Harrisburg departed this life on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at the St. Bernard’s Medical Center in Jonesboro, at the age of 93.

She was born March 27, 1933, in Balch, Arkansas, the daughter of the late Roy Guthrie and Alta Sutherland Guthrie.

Lela Faye was part of a farming family her entire life. She told stories of when she was a younger girl with her sister Betty Sue. They would occasionally get into squabbles and one time when they were squabbling, their mother stepped in and made them actually hit each other, long and hard enough that they both cried. I think that broke them from any future fights. She married Paul Whittingham on December 11, 1950, and they built a life together that spanned 75 years. He preceded her in death just seven weeks earlier on April 8, 2026. In all those years together, they only spent 4 nights away from each other. She was the glue that held the family together, always showing her faithfulness to them and to her Lord. Her family thought she was the best cook in the world! Everything she made was delicious! Her grandkids loved her pancakes and the special sauce that she put on them, which was actually white Karo syrup. Back in the seventies when Steve and Nechia were dating, they would always go out to their home on Saturday night, and she would make them cheeseburgers and the entire time she would be working on her Sunday school lesson for the next day! Also, when her kids were little, she went all over the countryside, picking up other little kids and taking them to Vacation Bible School with the boys. Through the years she loved to garden and can her food. She also enjoyed putting food in the freezers. She was an accomplished seamstress. She loved to sew and even make quilts. She was even called upon occasionally to make wedding dresses. On top of that and caring for a husband and three sons, she worked side by side on the farm, just as capable as most men. She could pick 300 lbs. of cotton by hand. She was a loving wife and mother, and a true faithful servant of her Lord at the Harrisburg Church of Christ. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 75 years, Paul Whittingham and her sister, Betty Sue Buchannon.

She is survived by three sons, Darrell Whittingham and his wife Denell, Steve Whittingham and his wife Nechia, and Tony Whittingham and his wife Bridget, all of Harrisburg, five grandchildren, Melanie Butler and her husband Rhett, Amanda Eaton and her husband Jon, Brian Whittingham and his wife Kirsten, Grant Whittingham and his wife Kristy, and Ashley Whittingham, and nine great grandchildren, Grace Butler, Audrey Butler, Silas Whittingham, Nate Whittingham, Jackson White, Ethan White, Ava Belle Whittingham, Embry Anna Whittingham, and Sydney Samuel.

Funeral services have been set for Friday, May 29, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at the Gregg-Weston Funeral Home Chapel in Harrisburg. Mr. Mark Weston and Mr. Brock Kendall will officiate. Friends may visit Friday, 12:30 – 2:00 p.m. Interment will follow at Harrisburg Memorial Park under the direction of Gregg-Weston Funeral Home of Harrisburg. Pallbearers will be Brian Whittingham, Grant Whittingham, Ethan White, Jackson White, Ray Blanchard and Billy Sears. Honorary Pallbearers will be Gary Fisher, Jim Miller, Sonny Bonds, Dr. Vonda Houchin, Gloria Greeno, Shirley New, Roxanne Hadaway, and Inge Leggett.

The family would like to express a special thank you to the staff at Woodbriar Nursing Home for the care they gave her.