James Warren Whittaker, the first US citizen who reached the Mount Everest summit, passed away at the age of 97 on Wednesday, April 8. The Seattle mountaineer died Tuesday at his home in Port Townsend, Washington, reported Cascadia Daily News.
Whittaker's son, Leif, said that his father passed away in bed, with a view of the Olympic Mountains, Port Townsend Bay, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Who Was Jim Whittaker?
Jim Whittaker, born and brought up in Seattle, gained fame in the Pacific Northwest for scaling the summit of Mount Everest and became one of the most important American mountaineers of his generation. He reached the top of Mount Everest on May 1, 1963.
Whittaker is survived by his wife, Dianne Roberts. His three sons are Joss, Leif and Robert Whittaker. He has grandchildren, Adam, Anthony Whittaker and Sarah Kanzler. He also has a great-granddaughter, Sophie Whittaker.
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President John F. Kennedy celebrated the achievement of Whittaker in a statement, saying the American climbers had pushed “human endurance and experience to their farthest frontiers.” Whittaker’s connection to the Kennedy family continued after Everest. In 1965, he joined Sen. Robert F. Kennedy on the first ascent of Mount Kennedy in Canada, a peak named in honour of President John F. Kennedy.
Beyond Everest, Whittaker remained a major figure in US climbing for decades. He later led the 1978 American expedition that made the first US ascent of K2 in Pakistan, the world’s second-highest mountain.