Mary Beth Whitacre, age 77, of Springfield, Missouri (formerly Newton, Iowa) passed away peacefully on July 9, 2020. She was born on March 6, 1943 to Elmer and Mariette Baudot-Resch in Oconomoc, Wisconsin. She graduated from Arvada High School in Arvada, Colorado in 1961 and attended Colorado State University. It was through a college friend she met Ben Whitacre on a blind date and married him on June 1, 1963. They were married almost 53 years. They loved to travel together and she frequently said, “I want to see everything there is to see.”

They were founding members of the Eureka Springs Corvette Show in 1990 and she served on the board until her death. She loved spending time with her daughters and their families. She loved her many, many friends and cherished her weekly luncheons. In her professional career she worked in school administration for the Newton Public School System and several banks retiring from State Bank of Southwest Missouri in Springfield, Missouri.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Robert “Ben” Whitacre; her parents, Elmer and Mariette Resch; her infant sister Pauline Margaret Resch; her brother-in-law Victor Swenholt; and her nephew Victor Swenholt, Jr.

She is survived by her daughters; Stephanie (Tom) Burris of Des Moines, Iowa and Dana (Mark) Bounds of Atlanta, Georgia. Her grandchildren Amanda Bounds and Robert Burris; her sister Jeanette (Ted) Miller; her cousins Marina (Jim) Naden, Paulette (Mike) Treu; Dennis (Jenny) Bernard; her sister-in-law Martha McKee-Swenholt; her nieces and nephews Carolyn “Liz” (Monte) Key, Chris Swenholt, Heidi (Gloria) Thatcher-Miller; Jamie +(Laura) Miller and their families. She leaves behind many friends that she loved.

Visitation will be held at Greenlawn Funeral Home North on July 17 from 9-11 a.m. with a Graveside Service immediately following at 11:30 in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers and plants the family requests donations to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, 239 Turpentine Creek Lane, Eureka Springs, Arkansas 72632