Donald H. "Whitey" Hemmingsen

Donald “Whitey” H. Hemmingsen of Fox River Grove, IL passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 11, 2022 at the age of 85.  The world lost a great man. He was a gentle and giving soul, dedicated to his family, friends, and faith. Whitey was kind-hearted, humorous, and humble.  He was someone you aspire to be as he always looked for the best in people and treated everyone with dignity and respect. He will forever be greatly loved and missed.

Whitey was born in Elgin, IL and welcomed by parents Marius and Myrtle Hemmingsen. He was the youngest of siblings, Maurine, Charles, and Violet. He worked on his family’s farm and had a very strong work ethic, which carried through his 45 years in the concrete business, retiring from Meyer Material in 2003.  He was a life-long parishioner at the Congregational Church of Algonquin, where he was baptized, and generously gave his time in volunteerism.

Whitey is survived by his bride of 66 years, Patricia Ann (nee Dwire), his children; Kenneth (Laurie McGhee), Laurie (Bill), and Carol (Brad); his eight grandchildren; Amy (Wally), Eric, Michael (Mary), Lindsey Nicole, Kyle, Craig, Katlyn (Alex), and Steve (Holly); his nine great grandchildren; Josh, Isabella, Brianna, Holly, Connor, Liam, Hunter, Alaina, and Logan. He is also survived by his faithful companion, “Bella Boo”, his golden retriever.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Marius and Myrtle Hemmingsen and siblings, Maurine, Charles and Violet. 

A visitation for Whitey is planned for Thursday, June 16th, from 4:00 – 8:00. The visitation will be at Kahle-Moore Funeral Home at 403 Silver Lake Rd, Cary, IL. A private service for the immediate family will be held on Friday, June 17 th.

People wishing to honor Whitey’s lifelong commitment to family and community can make donations to The Congregational Church of Algonquin (algonquinucc.org), Food Pantry of choice, St. Jude’s Hospital (stjude.org), or Helping Paws (helpingpaws.net).

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