Celtic Tribute to KC Irish Driving Force in Cornish Group
Donald R. Whitman of Kansas City passed away recently, aged 76.
Donald was in the Air Force as part of the team doing weather reconnaissance for Operation Ivy, the first detonation of the hydrogen bomb.
The Kansas City Star has a tribute to Whitman, paying special attention to his devotion to things Cornish-American in KC. Cornwall is a Celtic nation seldom mentioned in Kansas City by many purporting to celebrate or represent all things Celtic.
Whitman and his first wife started the Greater Kansas City Cornish Society together in 1994. She was Cornish, a descendent of immigrants from Cornwall, the most southwestern county in England. He was Irish, and when she died, he remained dedicated to the group. He wished to preserve their Celtic heritage and teach others about the often-overlooked history of the Cornish. He thought that the group had been largely ignored by English history. They were referred to as “ancient Britons,” for example — even though they had their own rich legacy that reached back much further than the English.
“He was the driving force in the Cornish group,” said Gordon Cotton, a friend and Cornishman. “He was the publisher, writer and editor of the newsletter — and an all-around good guy. He went out of his way to help anyone that needed it.”
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