Longtime volunteer Dee Whitcraft dies

Van Wert independent

The Van Wert community has lost one of its most loyal volunteers with the death of Delores “Dee” Whitcraft on Tuesday.

Whitcraft, a 27-year employee of Vantage Career Center who retired as Adult Education director, started her career as an instructor in the Early Childhood program. Those roots in early childhood education also led to her being instrumental in the creation of Wee Care Day Care Center (now Wee Care Learning Center).

A graduate of Wright State University, Whitcraft maintained a long relationship with that university’s Lake Campus in Celina through her service on the Western Ohio Educational Foundation Board of Trustees. She was also the WOEF Board’s representative on the Wright State University Foundation Board of Trustees.

Here in Van Wert, Whitcraft gave generously of her time, serving as a former president of the Main Street Van Wert Board of Directors and Community Improvement Corporation Board. She also volunteered for several years at the Van Wert Innovation Center on Fox Road, helping start-up companies get their feet on the ground.

A longtime member of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Van Wert, Whitcraft also as a past president of the Van Wert Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and United Way of Van Wert County. She also served on the Van Wert County Economic Advisory Group, was a longtime Twig II member who helped raise funds to purchase equipment for Van Wert County Hospital, and was one of the first women members of the Van Wert Rotary Club, of which she was also a past president.

Immediate survivors include her husband, Steve; two sons, Scott and Jason; and eight grandchildren (see Whitcraft’s full obituary on the Obituary Page).