Arthur Dean “Art” Whitcomb, 87, of Decatur, died at home on March 3, 2026, with his wife of 61 years holding his hand.
Art was born in 1938 in Pana, Illinois, the second of four boys, and grew up on a farm where, by his own account, he learned more from a broken tractor than from any teacher. He graduated from Pana High School in 1956 and served two years in the Army before taking a job as a tool-and-die maker. He stayed 34 years, retired as shop foreman, and still kept a pencil behind his ear every day after.
He met Joan Kessler at a church picnic in 1963 when he spilled lemonade on her shoes. He offered to buy her new ones and she made him take her to dinner instead. They married the next spring and raised three children in the house on Sunnyside Drive, where the porch light was always on and the garage was always open to any neighbor with something that needed fixing.
Art could not walk past a crooked picture frame. He grew tomatoes he was too proud of, listened to every Cardinals game on the radio even when it was on television, and answered the phone with “Whitcomb's, go ahead.” His grandchildren knew that a trip to the hardware store with Grandpa took two hours, because he knew everyone in it.
He is survived by his wife, Joan; his children, Mark (Lisa) Whitcomb, Susan (David) Hale and Tom Whitcomb; seven grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and his brother, Earl. He was preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Ruth Whitcomb, and his brothers, Dale and Gene.
Visitation will be Friday, March 6, from 4 to 7 p.m. at First Methodist Church, Decatur, with the funeral there Saturday at 10 a.m. Burial follows at Greenwood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the Macon County Food Pantry, where Art drove the Tuesday truck for twelve years.