Melvin "Butch" Whitty Jr.

Melvin "Butch" Whitty Jr, age 80, passed away at home surrounded by his family on March 25, 2020. Melvin was born on May 2, 1939 in Oshkosh to the late Melvin and Mary (Ratchman) Whitty. Melvin married Marilyn Bougie on April 18, 1960 – this year being their 60th wedding anniversary. He owned and operated Whitty Motor Service and had an innate mechanical ability and was an expert at performance tuning snowmobiles.
Along with his passion for being a snowmobile mechanic he enjoyed riding snowmobiles on the Fox and Wolf Rivers and organized and participated in radar runs.
There was a special place in his heart for his cottage getaway in Covington, MI in the Upper Peninsula. He loved the quiet peacefulness and the laid back way of life.
Melvin’s favorite place, aside from enjoying supper at his kitchen table with Marilyn, was down by the river at his fishing shanty. He truly enjoyed running a setline for catfish and fishing off the float for white bass. His love for fishing brought many family and friends together for fish fries through the years. He fought hard in the 1980’s to preserve the fish, the shanties on the Fox River in Oshkosh and the history behind them.
Melvin is survived by his loving wife, Marilyn; daughters, Rita (David) Darabosh, Lori (Mike) Tank and Deanna Kading; son-in-law, Scott Kading Sr.; brothers, Mark (Chris) and Mike (Sharon) Whitty; nine grandchildren; 13 great grandchildren and one great great grandchild. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sisters, Kathy, Karen and Colleen.
Due to gatherings being restricted there will be no services held at this time.
The family would like to extend a sincere thank you to Ascension Hospice for the heartfelt care that they provided to Melvin, especially Ashlee and Joy. They were extremely supportive and compassionate with their care.