Arthur J. Whitehouse, 90, of Southbury, CT, passed away April 26, 2015 peacefully at home surrounded by family and special loved ones. He had been in hospice care for several weeks and died on his own terms, in the home he so loved, facing the pond, in Heritage Village. He was born January 26, 1925 in Hamilton Beach, N.Y., the first son of Arthur Whitehouse and Mary Higgins Whitehouse.

A World War II veteran, Arthur enlisted into the Navy at age 17 and served for 3 years on a Patrol Craft submarine chaser during the Battle of the Atlantic. After the war, he fell in love and married Barbara Yodice of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. They were inseparable for the next 70 years. Being a sailor who wed a champion swimmer, it was inevitable that they would never be far from the water's front, and they moved to and raised their family in East Rockaway, New York, where they were members of beach and sailing clubs and the swim teams that Arthur and Barbara coached. An active member of the Hewlett Point Yacht Club for more than 20 years, Arthur was a flag officer and board member before assuming the duties of Yacht Club Commodore in the 1970s.

During his entire life he either took things apart to see how they worked or built them from scratch. He spent time in architectural school after the war, winning awards and recognition, and went on to become a skilled craftsman and builder who designed and built two getaway homes in the Poconos for his family to enjoy summer and winter sports.

Having planned for an early retirement, after 25 years he retired at age 55 from Bell Telephone, where he was regional buildings supervisor for the New York Boroughs, to travel the world with Barbara and pursue his many interests and hobbies such as gardening and repairing anything that was broken. He loved spending time with his grandchildren and great grandchildren, making people laugh and telling stories - many of which were true. He had a great life.

A loving father, grandfather, great grandfather, he was preceded in death by his wife Barbara and son Arthur and is survived by his four children, Bobbie Wynne, of Southbury, CT; Michael Whitehouse and his wife Kim Hanna, of Redding, CT; Maureen Whitehouse and Fritz Mueller of Cambridge MA; and Trisha Whitehouse and her husband John Zabarsky of Southbury, CT; nine grandchildren, Doug and Danny Wynne; Lucy Whitehouse; Merete and Maeve Mueller; Hannah, Nathan, Carrie and Bobby Zabarsky; and three great grandchildren, River, Kyra and Paige Wynne.

Memorials: Memorial Contributions may be made to Regional Hospice and Home Care, 30 Milestone Road, Danbury, CT, 06810 www.regionalhospicect.org.

Cemetery: Pine Hill Cemetery

Location: Munson-Lovetere Southbury

Funeral: St. Teresa's Church

Services: Funeral services will be held at St Teresa Avila Church, Woodbury, CT on Saturday, May 2, at 11: 00 a.m. (146 Main S Main Street, Woodbury). Burial with full military honors will follow in Pine Hill Cemetery, Pine Hill Rd. in Southbury.

Visitation: Friends may call at the Munson-Lovetere Funeral Home, 235 Main Street North, Southbury, CT., from 4: 00-8: 00 p.m., Friday, May 1.