CAPTAIN Ronnie Edward Whiten

CAPTAIN Ronnie (Ron) Edward Whiten, USN, Ret.

Greenville – Ronnie (Ron) Edward Whiten, CAPTAIN, Medical Service Corps, USN (retired), 77 years old, passed away peacefully on 18 October 2024 in Greenville, South Carolina. He was born on March 1, 1947, in Toccoa, GA. The son of the late Oscar Weldon and Helen (Cawthon) Whiten. Ron was preceded in death by two brothers-in-law, James Clifford Miller and David Maurice Miller. Ron is survived by his wife of 55 years Mary Ann (Miller) Whiten, of Greenville, his high school sweetheart, his daughters Janet (Greg) Christy and Traci (James) Anderson and two granddaughters, Greta and Emily; step-grandson, Andrew Christy, step-granddaughter Robin (Jonathon) Lane, and great step-grandsons, Jackson, Ryan and Adam; sisters and brothers-in-law, Sara and Ralph Kellar, Jackie Miller, and Cathy Miller. 

Ron was a graduate of Stephens County High School, Eastonallee, GA. He was a Boy Scout Troop 77 member, achieving Eagle Scout with the God and Country award, and in the Brotherhood of the Order of the Arrow. Ron graduated from the University of Georgia (BS Pharmacy), and the Medical University of South Carolina (Doctor of Pharmacy).

He served in the United States Navy from 1971 to 1993, retiring as a CAPTAIN. His duty stations included Naval Medical Training Command, San Diego, as a student and instructor; Naval Reserve, Naval Hospital, Charleston; Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth; Defense Medical Standardization Board, Frederick, MD, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, where he served as an assistant director and then director; and, Pharmacy Program Director and Advisor to the Surgeon General of the US Navy, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Washington, D.C.

Ron held many academic positions, from Instructor to Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Medical University of Virginia, Old Dominion University School of Nursing, Howard University, University of Maryland, and the University of Uniform Services of Health Sciences., He is a lifetime member of the Military Officers Association of America and the National Eagle Scout Association. After his military career, Ron served and retired at Merck and Co., Inc. as a Senior Executive in Managed Care for ten years. Then he served with CVS/pharmacy for over 10 years.

Ron became a skilled artist working with art glass as his hobby. Ron will be laid to rest in the columbium at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 910 Hudson Road, Greenville, SC 29615.

A Requiem Mass will be held at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, at 2:00 PM on October 27, with a reception to follow at the church.

His family would like to thank the staff of Via Hospice Palliative Care, Terra Bella of Thornblade, NHC of

Greenville and McCall Hospice House for their loving care.