Jean Rogers Whipple “Whip” Dutton, 91, of Winchester, Virginia passed away Tuesday, February 18, 2020, at Winchester Medical Center.

Whip was born in 1928 in Vienna, Georgia. She was the 3rd of four daughters of the late Rugene Rogers Whipple and Lewis Bennett Whipple. Whip was a graduate of Mary Baldwin College, Class of 1949. In 1951 she moved to Atlanta, Georgia and worked for Lockheed Martin as a physiognomist (one who can judge character from facial characteristics). After her tenure with Lockheed Martin Whip worked for Delta Airlines as a Convention Sales Representative.

Whip met her soon-to-be husband, Benjamin Blanton Dutton, while he was training in Atlanta, Georgia for The Hartford Fire Insurance Company. She and Ben married on June 14, 1952 in Vienna, Georgia.

In 1953 Whip and Ben moved to Louisiana and started a family. After many moves Whip and Ben relocated to Winchester in 1963, where Ben accepted an employment opportunity with J.V. Arthur Inc. Insurance.

Whip was a 5th grade educator at Virginia Avenue School under the supervision of Principal Charlotte DeHart, which was later renamed Virginia Avenue Charlotte DeHart Elementary School. She had a true passion for teaching and loved all of her students…encouraging all of them to do their very best and striving to make a positive impact on all their lives.
Whip was very involved in many organizations in Winchester and the surrounding area. She was a “sustaining member” of the Association of Junior Leagues of America; past President of the Century Club; past President of the Blue Ridge Chapter of the Museum of Fine Arts. She volunteered for Wolf Trap for the Performing Arts; she was a committee chair for the Virginia Museum in Richmond; past President of the Board of Directors of the Winchester Day Nursery; Board Member of the Preservation of Historic Winchester; Board Secretary of Belle Grove (a National Trust Property); two time chairman and co-chairman of The Little Garden Club’s Historic Garden Week in Virginia; organizer of the first Winchester Diabetes Association; a Girl Scouts of American Brownie leader; and served on the Altar Guild of Christ Episcopal Church. Whip was a longtime member of Christ Episcopal Church of Winchester.

Surviving are daughters, Fay Ann Dutton and husband, Jim Moyer; Virginia Rogers Dutton; Whipple Rickman and husband, Glenn; grandson, Benjamin Rickman; dear friend, who was like a son, George M. Murphy; and longtime friend, Dot Pifer.

Whip was preceded in death by her husband, Ben in 2011; sisters, Anne English, Fay Allen, and Virginia Seaton.

A graveside service will be conducted at 1 pm on Saturday at Mount Hebron Cemetery, Winchester, Virginia with The Reverend Webster Gibson officiating. A memorial reception will be held at 2 pm on Saturday at Christ Episcopal Church, Winchester, Virginia.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Whip’s memory to Blue Ridge Hospice, 333 W. Cork Street, Suite 405, Winchester, Virginia 22601.