“Jimi” Merline Whatley

ODESSA “Jimi” Merline Whatley, 71, of Odessa, passed away Saturday, Nov. 27, 2004, at Medical Center Hospital.
She was born Aug. 24, 1933, in Clovis, N.M., to Vivian and James Henry Lewis Jr. She was the youngest of three sisters. Her father was a preacher and owned a bakery in Carlsbad N.M., and her mother was a nurse at St. Mary’s hospital. She married Cecil J. Whatley on Sept. 17, 1951, in Carlsbad. She bore two children, Gayla and Glenna.
Jimi was a nurse’s aide at St. Mary’s hospital, head cashier for TG&Y and Sherwood Lanes. She retired from her trophy winning bowling league to pursue full time genealogy. She started a booth of genealogy for the Indians at the yearly pow-wow at Odessa College.
She accepted Christ into her life at the age of 12. She was a great accomplisher as a self-taught seamstress, piano player and an artist. She studied, witnessed and was a living dictionary for anyone who needed to know where verses or stories were in the Bible.
She left behind two nieces and one nephew; daughters Gayla Threatt and husband Charles; Glenna Jones and husband Ricky, all of Odessa; six grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
Services will be held on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2004, at 2 p.m. in Sunset Memorial Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Kyle Rogers officiating. Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Gardens.
Family will receive friends on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2004, from 7-9 p.m. at Sunset Memorial Funeral Home.
Services are entrusted to Sunset Memorial Funeral Home.