Thurlow “Toddy” Whitman was born July 31, 1918, in Hornell, N.Y., a small town in western New York state. He was the oldest of five children. He was the first person in Hornell and in our residential county (Steuben) drafted into the U.S. Army to serve in World War II. As the war continued, his two younger brothers were drafted by the U.S. Army to serve our country.

 

Consequently, their parents, Carl and Irene, had all three of their sons serving our country at the same time.

 

His deployment with the First Armored Division (“Old Ironsides”) from Fort Knox, Ky., required him transported on the Queen Mary with thousands of other soldiers to reach his assigned destination of North Africa (Tunisia) and eventually Italy. His duties were those of a medic and rose to the rank of staff sergeant prior to his honorable discharge upon the completion of the war after the surrender of Japan in September 1945.

 

Near the end of that year, he quietly returned home to Hornell where he and his wife Dorothy began their family raising five children (two daughters and three sons) while helping his father in his restaurant. He rarely spoke about his service in World War II, although he was proud to be a veteran and the enjoyed friendships he made during this period. He would often travel to annual reunions of the First Armored Division and stayed in contact with his fellow comrades.

 

He became the proprietor of Whitman’s Tavern and Restaurant after his father, Carl, passed away in 1951. He remained at the Canisteo Street location of Whitman’s Tavern for approximately 20 years. Urban renewal required him and other local businesspeople to close as the buildings would be demolished so a new innovative design for the city could continue to be built.

 

He opened a new restaurant in an adjoining town until he returned to our hometown to operate other restaurant endeavors over the next decades of his life. He retired twice before retiring for the final time when he was in his eighties. He was charming, charismatic, humble, humorous, and personable, making him a well-known icon of our small community.

 

He was the same throughout his life and joyful at all stages no matter how difficult things may have been. He always had a smile on his face. Sadly, he passed away March 6, 2014, at the age of 95.