The Rutherford Institute Mourns the Passing of Carol Whitehead (1949-2009), Co-Founder, Beloved Wife of John W. Whitehead, Mother and Grandmother

Send your condolences to staff@rutherford.orgz

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Carol Whitehead, co-founder of The Rutherford Institute, devoted wife of John W. Whitehead, loving mother of five children, grandmother of two and friend to many, passed away on June 3, 2009. Her life was a testament to her great love for her husband, family and the organization she helped found. She was a joy and a blessing to all who knew her.

If John W. Whitehead is the head of The Rutherford Institute, his wife Carol has been the heart, always ready to offer a smile, a gentle word and an understanding ear. "I consider my wife a co-founder of The Rutherford Institute," shared Whitehead. As John remarked on their 40th anniversary, "Carol keeps me in check, gives me good advice and makes sure I don't overstep my bounds. She is the most important person to me on the planet."

With 42 years of marriage (27 of which have been devoted to Rutherford), five children and two grandchildren to her credit, Carol has been John's partner in everything he does. It's inconceivable that he could have started The Rutherford Institute without her, or accomplished any of the things he has done without her steady support. When Whitehead decided to write what would become his first best-selling book, The Second American Revolution, it was Carol who typed and edited the manuscript. When he first thought to start The Rutherford Institute, believing that God was calling him to stand in defense of people whose rights were being violated, it was Carol who prayed with him about it. And when no one else would give him the money to get started, it was Carol who helped scrape up enough to get things going and sacrificed along the way to keep it going.

For Carol, it was just as much of a calling. "We couldn't see what was in store for us," stated Carol in a 2007 article commemorating the Institute's 25th anniversary, "but we felt sure that was what God wanted us to do, and we took a step of faith." Those early years were difficult, busy years. "Just getting Rutherford off the ground was extremely difficult, we had basically no money," remembered Carol. "A friend of ours made our house payment for us for a year, and that's how we survived."

They did more than survive. Together, John and Carol Whitehead succeeded in creating a civil liberties organization grounded in Christ's teachings that commands the respect of Christians and non-Christians alike the world over. It wasn't easy, but Carol had no regrets. "I can't imagine doing anything else," she once observed. "There's not any other kind of job that would make us feel that we had fulfilled what God called us to do."

Messages of condolence can be sent to staff@rutherford.org. In lieu of floral arrangements, donations can be made in Carol's memory to The Rutherford Institute.