Obituary of Ann Marie Hamula Whitney

Ann Marie Hamula Whitney, of Tallahassee, Florida and Pulteney, New York, passed away peacefully at her home on October 31, 2021, with her loving husband Michael and family members by her side. Ann Marie’s life began in Elmira, New York on May 22, 1956, the first of six children born to Mary and Jack Hamula. She attended Our Lady of Lourdes School, Notre Dame High School, and Alfred State College, and graduated summa cum laude from Elmira College with a Master of Science in Education degree. Ann Marie was an avid historian and highly respected teacher of United States history throughout her adult life. After twenty years of high school classroom teaching, she joined the Florida Department of Education for the last ten years of her career, retiring at the end of 2019 from the position of Director of Standards, Bureau of Standards and Instructional Support. In 1976 Ann Marie Hamula married Michael Whitney at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Elmira, and together they raised four children in nearby Horseheads, New York. She was a loving and devoted mother who worked tirelessly to care for and protect her children, while also completing her education and then managing a rewarding teaching career at Horseheads High School. During this time, Ann Marie was a long-time communicant of St. Mary Our Mother Church, a cheerleading coach in the Chemung County Catholic Youth Organization, and faculty advisor to the HHS Academic Quiz Team. In 2007, with children grown, Ann Marie and Michael moved to Tallahassee, Florida, where she continued her career in education. She enjoyed many new activities and made many new friends in Tallahassee, and became an enthusiastic supporter of the Florida State University Men’s Basketball Program. With more time to travel, Ann Marie enjoyed trips to Ireland, England, Italy, and Hawaii, and many historical sites of interest within the United States. She indulged her love of reading, learned to knit, became a skilled baker, and loved her grandchildren. Her happy life was ended much too early this year, by a fast moving form of cancer. Ann Marie was a kind, caring, honest, and genuine person, with a strong sense of right and wrong. She believed in justice and fairness for all people, and was a champion of anyone who she felt was under loved, unappreciated, or treated unfairly. She gravitated toward those who shared the same values. Ann Marie is survived by her husband of forty five years, Michael; daughter Megan Whitney with husband Paul Spigener of Sandy Hook, CT; son Robert Whitney with wife Michele Humes of Brooklyn, NY; son David Whitney with wife Ashley Mastrine of Portland, OR; stepdaughter Alison Whitney with husband Sean Daugherty of Beaverton, OR; granddaughters, Rowan Daugherty and Charlotte Podolsky; grandsons, Chase Podolsky and Stellan Whitney; sisters, Eileen Hamula (Tom) Berlue and Elizabeth Hamula (Jeff) Murray; brothers, David (Lori) Hamula and Thomas (Lisa Munson) Hamula; special sister-in-law Kelly Cusick Hamula. She is predeceased by her parents John C. (Jack) Hamula and Mary Hourigan Hamula, and her brother John F. Hamula. A Memorial Service in remembrance of Ann Marie Hamula Whitney will be held on Wednesday, November 24, 2021, 10:00 a.m. at McInerny Funeral Home, 502 W. Water Street, Elmira. Interment, with committal prayers, will follow at St. Peter & Paul's Cemetery.