Shelburne Falls, MA – Henry Burton Whiteside passed away, surrounded by his three children, on Friday, December 26, after being badly injured in an auto accident on Christmas Eve morning.
Ton was born in Burgaw, North Carolina, on July 14, 1952, to Beulah Gibbons Rochelle Whiteside, a homemaker, and Heustis Pennington Whiteside, an artist, professor, merchant, and WWII combat veteran.
Ton attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, majoring in philosophy and religion. After graduating from UNC, he matriculated to the Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA, and later the General Theological Seminary in New York City, becoming an ordained Episcopal priest in 1983. He went on to serve at the Church of the Good Shepherd, where he was instrumental in establishing the Good Shepherd Center. Still in operation, the Good Shepherd Center not only provides emergency shelter and food, it also helps find permanent housing for about 150 people every year.
Feeling the pull of another mission, Ton enrolled at the Maryland University of Integrated Health (formerly The Traditional Acupuncture School) to study acupuncture. After completing his education there in 2001, he moved to Western Massachusetts, where he began his acupuncture practice and served as a minister at Plainfield Congregational Church in Plainfield, MA.
During his time in Western Mass, he lived primarily in Shelburne Falls, MA. Always eager to connect and be of service to others, he became a beloved member of the community.
His friends and family will keenly miss his penetrating mind and caring heart, which were always straining toward justice, truth, and the mercy at the heart of his faith.
He is survived by his beloved children, Nathan Whiteside, Helen Whiteside, Zoe Whiteside, their families, and their mother, Susan Beam. This year, Ton was excited to welcome his first grandchild, Helen’s son, Francis Hiatt Whiteside to the family. He is also survived by his brother, H.P. Whiteside Jr.; his sister, Rochelle Whiteside; their families; his godson, John Michael David Parenti; as well as his many dear friends in North Carolina, Western Massachusetts, and Japan.
A funeral service will be held on January 3, 2026, in Burgaw, North Carolina, at Burgaw United Methodist Church; service details will be available through Harrell’s Funeral Home website (https://www.harrellsfh.com/). A memorial will take place in Western Mass some weeks later.
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