For 42 years, Dr. Charles S. Wilhite taught music theory, history, piano, and organ to students at Midland University. Today, the campus mourns his passing.

Dr. Wilhite passed away Feb. 2, in Fremont. He is survived by his wife, Ann, who is also a retired Midland music professor.

Dr. Wilhite developed a love of music during his childhood in Dallas, Texas. He pursued his passion at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, before earning a Master of Music from Southern Methodist University, a Master of Sacred Music from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and a PhD in Musicology from the University of Iowa. He arrived on the Midland campus in 1963.

Teaching, Dr. Wilhite said, offered a chance to increase his knowledge about music while interacting with students. He was one of seven professors who were involved in the Odyssey Program, which was once a part of the curriculum that discussed historical personalities. A facilitator of the program since its inception, he lectured on Albert Schweitzer and Johann Sebastian Bach.

Prior to his retirement in 2005, Dr. Wilhite told the Fremont Tribune: “When I retire I will miss contact with the students and the fun of seeing them develop from the green novices that they were as freshmen. There are always those that you see develop to where they say, ‘I understand,' and that understanding is what you're in business for.”

A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, at Sinai Lutheran Church in Fremont.

Read Dr. Wilhite’s full obituary here.

Read more in this story from the Fremont Tribune here.