Lennie O. Whitworth Jr.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Lennie O. Whitworth Jr., 99, died Oct. 14, 2019, in Memphis. He was born Feb. 2, 1920, in Fredericktown, Mo., to the late Lennie O. Whitworth Sr. and Elizabeth Bernice Whitworth.

He married Marietta (Twitty) Whitworth on Nov. 2, 1947, who predeceased him on Dec. 19, 2014. He was also preceded in death by one brother, William Goff Whitworth. He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Libby and Michael Bilderbeck; son and daughter-in-law, Gary and Libby T. Whitworth; brother and sister-in-law, Ray and Carolyn Whitworth; granddaughter, Morgan Whitworth Hudson and husband, Ian; grandson, Alex Whitworth Bilderbeck; granddaughter, Anna Claire Bilderbeck Parker, and husband, Dustin; grandson, Spencer Marlen Whitworth; step-grandson, Ron Lynn Brown; four great-grandchildren, one nephew and five nieces. 

During World War II, Lennie was selected by Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves to serve as a civil engineer on The Manhattan Project after completing an accelerated educational program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was assigned to participate in the design and development of the Fat Man implosion atomic bomb project in Los Alamos, N.M. and continued in that role until the end of the war. He was subsequently deployed to the South Pacific to participate in the Nuclear Testing Bikini Atoll Program, including Operation Crossroads. He received a B.S. – engineering degree from Washington University in St. Louis and was a member of Tau Beta Pi honor society.  

Lennie  was a longtime resident of Sikeston, Mo., and consulting civil engineer, specializing in the design and construction of various landmark structures in the Southeast Missouri area. He served as a president of the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers and a Director of the National Society. He was an active member of Hunter Memorial First Presbyterian Church, previously serving as Clerk of the Session and Elder. He was a lifetime member of the Sikeston Rotary Club, serving in many roles and a Paul Harris Fellow. He was a chair of the local American Red Cross chapter for many years and was a former director of the Sikeston Chamber of Commerce.   

His body was donated to Washington University for medical research.  Memorial services will be announced shortly. The family requests any donations should be made to Hunter Memorial Presbyterian Church or the American Cancer Society.

Paid obituary