Don Whitlatch

(Parkersburg, West Virginia) – Parkersburg native and internationally famous wildlife artist and conservationist Don Whitlatch, 85, died April 22, 2017 at Camden Clark Medical Center in Parkersburg. He was especially famous for his bird paintings. One of his clients, Borg-Warner, arranged for him to present the original of his American Bald Eagle watercolor to the First Lady, Pat Nixon, in the White House. Whitlatch received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degrees from Salem University and Alderson Broadus College, and was selected by the Audubon Society for the group’s first art auction, one of 21 international artists. He was named by West Virginia Governor Arch A. Moore, Jr. as the State’s Wildlife Artist. Whitlatch served for more than 10 years on the Board of Trustees of the Parkersburg Art Center. Throughout the 1980s, Don helped establish the state’s first chapters of Ducks Unlimited, the National Ruffed Grouse Society and Quail Unlimited. As with these organizations, and other community groups, Don often donated works of his art to help raise funds. One of his last contributions was to the West Virginia University Alumni Association, with his painting of the WVU Mountaineer, entitled ‘The Spirit.” Other national commissions resulted in paintings of Colonial Williamsburg, followed by a series of golf course paintings, including the fourth hole at Cascades Course at the Homestead in Hot Springs, VA, the sixth hole at the Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport, WV. The golf course series of which he was most proud was the “Starters,” paintings of the 16th hole at Augusta National, home of the Masters Tournament. As a lifelong resident of Parkersburg, Don was a member of many of the area’s civic and social organizations, including the Shriners, the Masons, and the Jesters Club. A 1950 graduate of Parkersburg High School, after serving in the U.S. Airforce during the Korean War, he studied at West Virginia University and Ohio University before moving back to Parkersburg, where he was instrumental in forming the newly created advertising agency, Falghren and Associates. He later formed his own corporate design firm, Ink, located on Murdoch Avenue. Clients included Black & Decker, Borg Warner Chemicals, Fenton Art Glass, Gravely Tractor and O. Ames Co. Donald Gene Whitlatch was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, November 11, 1931, the son of the late Clifford (‘Tip”) and the late Winifred Firestone Whitlatch. On May 13, 1952, in New York City he was married to Norma Worrall. They are the parents of four children, Ivy Whitlatch (spouse John Ashford), Alexandria, VA, Amy Varner (spouse Mark Varner), Charlottesville, VA, Clay Whitlatch, Parkersburg, WV and Jenny Whitlatch, Parkersburg, WV; grandparents of seven, Mark ‘Whit’ Varner, Charlottesville, VA, Sam Varner, Charlottesville, VA, Kasey Snyder (spouse Derek Snyder) Parkersburg, WV, Amanda Wade, Parkersburg, WV, Lakin Whitlatch, Parkersburg, WV, Jamie Ashford, Bethesda, MD and Kate Ashford, Bethesda, MD and great-grandparents of three, Mia Snyder, Parkersburg, Emma Snyder, Parkersburg, and Blake Varner, Charlottesville, VA, and his sister, Lucille, residing in Baltimore, Md. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister, Margaret Beckett, and one grandson, Alexander Wix, both of Parkersburg. Memorial services will be 5:30 P.M. Thursday, April 27th at the Parkersburg Art Center with Pastor Ian Reid officiating. The family wants all who knew Don or enjoyed his art to remember that a man who spent his life in art had a happy and rewarding one. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Parkersburg Art Center or the Wood County/Parkersburg Humane Society.