Christine Whitehead, attorney, community volunteer
Christine Whitehead, 82, passed away at Christiana Hospital Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, after a brief illness.
Born Ruby Christine Whitehead July 9, 1942, in Tarboro, N.C., she was the daughter of Alice Vick Whitehead and Herman Deal Whitehead Sr. Her father was a rural mail carrier. She always fondly remembered joining him on his meandering route through the small communities and homesteads of the Tarboro area. Those precious memories gave her an abiding love of horses and a lifelong tendency to seek back-road shortcuts when driving.
Though she migrated to Delaware in the 1960s, North Carolina was never far from her heart, and she returned to finish her bachelor’s degree at North Carolina State in 1975, after earlier studies at Louisburg and Meredith colleges. She graduated from Delaware Law School in 1978, after winning the School's Moot Court competition and the Senior Award for Research and Writing. When she was admitted to the Delaware Bar in 1978, she was one of the first 75 women ever to achieve that distinction.
Already drawn to the civic and political life of Delaware during her earlier time in the state, which included work with the Delaware Legislative Council, she quickly devoted her legal career to public service. After stints in the Attorney General's Office's Civil Division, the Public Defender's Office in the Appellate Division, and the NCC County Attorney's Office, she stepped away from daily practice to become a stay-at-home mother in 1984.
She was a loving and supportive mother who modeled kindness, creativity, and idealism, both inside and outside of the home. As a mom, she was eager to share her love of reading, writing, animals, and outdoor spaces. She drew great joy from painting, photography, genealogy, and letter-writing, but her foremost passion was always local politics and civics, with a focus on open government and environmental protection.
From 1995-99, she served on the New Castle County Planning Board, and in 1999 she joined the board of directors of the Civic League for New Castle County, which became a focal point of her volunteer work for many years. In 2003, she won the Good Government Award from Common Cause Delaware, for pro bono legal representation in the fight for a fair redistricting process. In later years, she resumed legal practice and focused on areas including land use, education law, and legislative advocacy. After retiring, she continued her volunteer advocacy with the Delaware Coalition for Open Government. Though retired, she never rested, and not even the infirmities of old age could stop her from dreaming of a better world.
She is survived by her son, Anthony Jerome Whitehead Capone (Elizabeth); brother, Herman Deal Whitehead Jr.; and several close cousins.
A celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 9, at Christ Church Christiana Hundred Parish House, Wilmington, with the doors opening for greeting at 10:30 a.m. A reception will be held following the service. Guests should use the lower parking lot and circle entrance to access the Parish House.
In lieu of flowers, it was Christine's wish that donations be made to ministryofcaring.org.
