Dora Spears Whitt, age 86, of Danville, KY, died peacefully on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, following a brief illness. She was born on Nov. 15, 1937, in Paintsville, KY, and attended Centre College in Danville, where she majored in theatre arts. As a theatre student and under the tutelage of Professor Wes T. Hill, Dora graced the Centre stage in several productions and was an extra in the 1957 MGM epic film, “Raintree County.” She did additional studies at Morehead State University and Eastern Kentucky University.

Dora was engaged as a community volunteer, where she served as a Cub Scout den mother in London, KY, a high school band and chorus booster in Paintsville, KY, and pianist at Danville, Kentucky’s McDowell Place, where she was joined by her husband, Calvin.

Shortly after she and Calvin made Danville their retirement home, Dora returned to the stage in the late 1990s with Danville’s Wes T. Hill Community Theatre, where she took lead roles.

Most recently, she was the inspiration behind her son Marc’s 2022 book, ‘When In Doubt, Make Applesauce!’ in which her practical wisdom and famed homemade applesauce recipe were blended for daily personal and professional application.

Dora was an active member of Lexington Avenue Baptist Church in Danville for more than 30 years, where she was, for many years, a frequent organist and eloquent praise and worship leader. She previously served as the organist at First Baptist Church in Paintsville, KY, and Allen Baptist Church in Prestonsburg, KY, when she and her husband lived in Paintsville.

Always cheerful, quick with an encouraging word, an energetic force for her family, and a deep, abiding faith in Jesus Christ, Dora was devoted to her family as wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt, cousin, daughter, and sister.

Preceded in death by her parents John L. and Eunice Daniel Spears, her husband, Calvin L. Whitt, and a son, Robert E. “Bob” Whitt, Dora is survived by a son, Marcus C. “Marc” Whitt and his wife, Jennifer McGuire Whitt, of Richmond, KY and a brother, John L. Spears and his wife, Marita Spears, of Navarre, FL. She was the grandmother of Emily Whitt Fields, married to Mark Wayne Fields, of Lexington, KY; Elizabeth Whitt Muncie, married to Christian Muncie, of Lexington, KY; and Jacob Robert Whitt, of Richmond, KY, fiancé of Ashton Jernigan; the great grandmother of Annaleigh Jaymes Fields, Aubrey Clay Fields, Hayden Grant Fields, and Sarah Faye Muncie.

Visitation will be 1:00-3:30 PM Saturday, April 27, 2024 at Lexington Avenue Baptist Church, 339 West Lexington Ave, Danville.  This date will mark the 37th anniversary of her son Bob’s Homegoing.  The funeral service will follow at 4:00 PM Saturday. Her best friend and family deacon, Carolyn Montgomery, will officiate. She will be buried in Highland Memorial Park Cemetery in Paintsville with a private service.

In lieu of flowers, contributions are requested for the Robert E. Whitt Memorial Music Scholarship at Eastern Kentucky University or for the purchase of Bibles through The Gideons International. www.cpcfh.com