CAIRO, Ill. -- Elder Ernest Edward Whitaker Sr., 56, of Cairo, died Friday, April 5, 2002, at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale, Ill.

He was born Aug. 18, 1945, in Cairo, son of Elihue Whitaker Sr. and Lydia Moore Whitaker.

He married Quincie Faye Bivens in 1972.

He attended Cairo Public Schools and was later employed as a heavy equipment operator. In 1976, he was appointed pastor of Bethel Temple Church of God in Christ of North Mounds, Ill., where he was still pastor.

He served as superintendent of the Cairo District of the Southeast Illinois Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ and later as assistant superintendent of District One of the Illinois Southeast Jurisdiction..

Survivors include his wife, Quincie Faye Whitaker of the home; three sons, Ernest E. Whitaker Jr., James Whitaker and Lamar Lynch, all of Cairo; five daughters Tammy Whitaker, Shataka Jangjirawat, Tabatha Whitaker, Debra Logan, all of Cairo, and Bonita Copeland of Edwardsville, Ill.; six brothers, Elihue Whitaker, Charles Whitaker and Bobby Whitaker, all of Cairo, Edward Whitaker of Waverly, Mo., Donnie Whitaker of Country Club Hills, Ill., and Carl Whitaker of Mounds; five sisters, Clara Caldwell and Lydia Watts, both of Cairo, Constance Burtley, Joyce Littleton and Elaine Whitaker, all of Carbondale; and seven grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, a son, three brothers, and a sister.

Friends may call from 5 to 7 p.m. today at Bethel Temple Church of God in Christ in Mounds.

Local staff funeral will be at 7 p.m. today at Bethel Temple Church of God in Christ in Mounds, with Elder Carl Whitaker and Superintendent Oscar Burtley Sr. officiating.

State funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday in Cole Gymnasium at Cairo High School. Bishop William Scott, prelate of the Southeast Illinois Jurisdiction, Church of God in Christ, will officiate.

Burial will be in Green Lawn Memorial Gardens in Villa Ridge, Ill.

Algee's Funeral Home in Carbondale is in charge of arrangements.