WATER VALLEY — John Michael “Mike” Whitehead, 65, of Water Valley, died Friday, Sept.18, 2015, surrounded by his wife and children in Sanctuary Hospice House in Tupelo. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Seven Oaks Funeral Home in Water Valley. Visitation will be held Monday from 5-8 p.m. at Seven Oaks Funeral Home, which is in charge of arrangements.

Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, he graduated from Westwood High School in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968 and went on to get a degree in respiratory therapy from Memphis State University. He spent 45 years as a respiratory therapist working in various settings from Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi. He was a member of First United Methodist Church of Water Valley. He was married 45 years to Jeanette Anthony Whitehead, his high school sweetheart.

Along with his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister, Kathy Whitehead.

He is survived by his wife of 45 years and high school sweetheart Jeanette Anthony Whitehead, of Water Valley; sons, Anthony Whitehead of Oxford and Dan Whitehead of Tupelo; daughter, Jennifer Lucus of Water Valley, MS; brother, David Whitehead of Memphis, Tennessee and four grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the children’s program at First United Methodist Church of Water Valley, the American Cancer Society or the Sanctuary Hospice House in Tupelo.