Kenneth Arthur Whitsel

Kenneth A. Whitsel

Kenneth A. Whitsel, 74, of Elizabethtown died suddenly on November 4, 2015. Ken was born August 14, 1941 in Carlisle, PA., the only child of Arthur F. Whitsel and Mary Virginia (Smertnick) Whitsel.

After graduating from Middletown High School in 1959, he received his B.A. from Elizabethtown

College. Ken received his Master’s Degree from Penn State. While enrolled in a doctoral program at the State University of New York at Buffalo, Ken met his wife Ginny.  They married in 1965.

After being discharged from the Air Force, the Whitsels moved to California where Ken was employed as a rehabilitation counselor and then a rehabilitation supervisor with the California

Dept. of Rehabilitation.

For most of his life Ken wanted to try his hand at business so in 1979 the Whitsels moved back to Pennsylvania and became Orange Julius franchisees.  Over the next 36 years they owned several Orange Julius and Dairy Queen franchises in New York, New Jersey, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.  In addition they owned food businesses in Tennessee, Illinois and Texas.

Ken’s enjoyment of baseball started when he played Little League in Middletown and continued throughout his life.  His other favorite sport was golf.  In addition to playing golf, he rarely missed a Crosby Pro-Am at Pebble Beach while he was living across the bay in Carmel, CA.

Ken is survived by his wife, Ginny, several nieces, nephew, and cousins.  A warm, kind, and generous man, with a delightful sense of humor. He will be sorely missed.

A memorial service/celebration of Ken’s life will be held on Saturday, January 9, 2016 at 1:00pm in the Sell Chapel at the Masonic Village, 1 Masonic Dr., Elizabethtown, PA 17022, with Pastor Timothy Nickel officiating. Arrangements have been entrusted to Miller-Finkenbinder Funeral Home & Crematory, 130 N. Market St., Elizabethtown, PA 17022.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Gift of Life Donor Program at www.donors1.org or 401 N. 3rd St., Philadelphia, PA 19123-4101, or to Masonic Village Hospice, at 1 Masonic Dr., Elizabethtown, PA 17022.

Condolences and memories may be shared at www.MillerFuneralHome.com