Tru was born in Buffalo, NY to Truman C. Whiting and Margaret Ullrich Whiting. He was a proud older brother to Susan and Robert.
Tru is survived by his beloved and devoted wife of 60 years, Marlene, his children, Truman III and Donna Susan, and his three grandchildren, Sam, Dean, and Samara.
Tru earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and many other decorations flying the F4-E phantom during his two tours in Vietnam. He had more than 300 combat missions, 214 of which were flown at night.
After the war, he spent time at Luke AFB in Phoenix AZ as a test pilot, breaking the sound barrier and doing things like flying straight up to see how high the plane could go until it (and he) stalled out. When he came to, he’d do it all over again. Great fun until he told Marlene about it 50 years later and got quite anearful.
He was a strong patriot and a hero, serving our country bravely and loyally. In the late 1970s, the Air Force sent him and his family to Iran where he was tasked with teaching the Shah’s pilots to fly the F4. They were there during the revolution. His family was on the last evac plane out — it lost an engine and the pilot said: “We’re getting out or we’re going down trying.” But Tru was not on that plane. He was hidden from house to house with his fellow pilots for months before USAF brought him home, just two weeks before the hostages were taken.
He claimed he never worked a day in his life because he was doing what he loved so much.
After his retirement from the Air Force, he took what he always said was the lowest paying but most fun job he could find — flying Learjets and towing targets for the Navy to use for practice. After that, one of his favorite missions was flying organ transplants because he got “to fly low and fast!”
He was natural leader and teacher, with infinite patience and a talent for tough students. As an instructor pilot in the Air Force, he always got assigned the most difficult students, and he always got them through. He was teaching people to fly right up until he finally retired during Covid.
His grandson Sam was one his last students, and whenever someone came to visit, they got to go up for ride and out for a cruise in his Corvette… in true Fighter Pilot style.
He was a leader in the Boy Scouts, helping his son get his Eagle Badge, and led his grandsons’ Cub Scout troops, as well.
Tru was deeply involved in the Civil Air Patrol when it was reactivated after 9/11. He ran the Peninsula Chapter for years and stayed involved until his illness made it impossible. He truly loved working with the kids there, sharing his love of flying, and helping them to achieve their dreams of doing the same.
Tru had a deep and abiding faith. He grew up going to Trinity Lutheran Church in West Seneca NY, and attended the one-room school there until 8th grade. Here in Yorktown, he has been a member of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church for over 45 years, teaching High School Sunday School, serving on the Church Council, and ushering on Sundays.
Tru never met a stranger, and he never forgot a face. He was quick with a joke and reveled in being the Chairman of the Mirth Committee of whatever organization he was a part of. He will be sorely missed and never forgotten by those of us lucky enough to love and by loved by him.
The funeral will be held on July 27th at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Yorktown, VA. Viewing at 10, service at 11:00, followed by a reception. Tru will be buried at 3:00 at Albert G. Horton Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery in Suffolk.
