Mark S. Whiting; Retired Teamsters Leader

Mark S. Whiting, who helped develop the Western Conference of Teamsters and Joint Council No. 42, has died at his home in Van Nuys. He was 84.

Whiting died Sunday of cancer, said his son, Douglas M. Whiting of Murrieta, Calif.

Born in Grano, N.D., Mark S. Whiting came to California in 1923 and became part of the Teamsters union for milk drivers in 1931, advancing to shop steward, business agent and finally secretary and treasurer in 1941.

Whiting joined two other men in developing the Western Conference of Teamsters, which oversees 13 Western states, and Joint Council No. 42, which oversees unions in Southern California and Southern Nevada. He held the position of secretary and treasurer of Teamsters Union Local 93 until his retirement in 1969.

Whiting, who was active in politics at the local, state and national levels, served on the Teamsters local political action committee and was a delegate for Adlai Stevenson at the 1956 National Democratic Convention. He was a member of Masonic Lodge No. 352 in Los Angeles and the Church on the Way in Van Nuys.

In addition to his son Douglas, Whiting is survived by his companion, Audrey Ender of Van Nuys; sons James T. Whiting of Bullhead City, Ariz., Richard Whiting of Magalia, Calif., and Patrick Whiting of Denton, Tex.; daughter Jacquiline L. Nelson of Burbank; sister Fannie Donaldson of Burbank; 15 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

A funeral was held Friday with burial at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in the Hollywood Hills. Eckerman-Heisman Funeral Service in Burbank handled the arrangements. Donations can be made in Whiting’s name to the American Cancer Society.