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H0107 The study's number for this person. Cite it and it will always lead here, whatever the spelling.
· A life in the study

Sterling Hegnauer Whitener

Born in China in 1921 and died at Greensboro in 2017.

born 27 Jun 1921 in China died 28 Jan 2017 at Greensboro, Guilford

Also written Sterling Whitener

Sterling Hegnauer Whitener was born on 27 June 1921 in China, where his parents, the Rev. Sterling W. Whitener and Marie A. Hegnauer, were missionaries; he carried his mother's maiden name as his middle name.1–2 His parents had married at Butler, Missouri, in June 1919; his mother was a daughter of Christian Hegnauer of Bates County (see her profile).3 Early in 1927 the upheavals of the Nationalist revolution drove the family out of China, and at the end of March "Rev. Whitner and family" were staying at Rockville with Marie's parents, "Mr. and Mrs. Chris Hegnauer".4

Sterling followed his parents into mission work. He graduated from Catawba College in 1942 and from Yale Divinity School in 1945, and in 1946 he went out to China as a missionary himself. He later served in Hong Kong for fifteen years. Back in the United States he worked in the social work program of Livingstone College in North Carolina, and in 2013, in his nineties, he published a book, In the Shadow of the Pagoda.1

Sterling Whitener died on 28 January 2017 at Friends Homes West in Greensboro, North Carolina, aged ninety-five. He left his wife and five children (living).1

What we know

Proven

  • Birth in China, 1921
  • Education, 1942 and 1945
  • Missionary in China, 1946
  • Author, 2013
  • Death at Greensboro, 2017
  • Social work education
  • one home, from the census and other records

What's still open

  • Identity. The Global Ministries notice describes a Sterling Whitener born in China on 27 Jun 1921 to missionary parents.

Sources

Sources 1–2

1 Sterling Whitener, 2017
2 Hegnauer/Putt family tree, Ancestry.com, 1921

Source 3

3 Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1919

Source 4

4 Appleton City Journal, 1927

Life in time

27 Jun 1921

Birth, China

proven Sources 1, 4

How we know

  1. 1921 Birth 27 Jun 1921 · China · proven

    Born in China to missionary parents (the Global Ministries notice). His parents, the Rev. Sterling W. Whitener and Marie A. (Hegnauer) Whitener, were missionaries in China until early 1927.

    The notice of his death gives 27 Jun 1921 in China, "to missionary parents"; it agrees with the family tree's date and place, which have no source there. His parents married in June 1919 and were missionaries in China until the family was "driven out by the hostilities" early in 1927. The town is not stated.

    Sources 1, 4

  2. 1927 Residence Mar 1927 · Rockville, Bates · proven

    "Rev. Whitner and family have returned from China ... and are at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Chris Hegnauer."

    The Rockville column of 31 Mar 1927 reports that his parents and their family had come home from China and were staying with his mother's parents; the children are not named, but he was then five.

    Source 4

  3. 1942 Education between 1942 and 1945 · proven

    Graduated from Catawba College (1942) and Yale Divinity School (1945).

    The Global Ministries notice gives both schools and years; no college record has been read.

    Source 1

  4. 1946 Missionary after 1946 · China · proven

    Went to China as a missionary in 1946 and later served in Hong Kong for fifteen years.

    The notice gives his mission service; the sending church and the dates in Hong Kong are not recorded here.

    Source 1

  5. 2013 Author proven

    Author of "In the Shadow of the Pagoda" (2013).

    The notice names the book and its year.

    Source 1

  6. 2017 Death 28 Jan 2017 · Greensboro, Guilford · proven

    At Friends Homes West, Greensboro, aged 95.

    The Global Ministries notice, published on 9 Feb 2017, gives the date and place of his death and his age, which fits his birth in June 1921. The family tree has the same date and place without a source. No death certificate has been read.

    Source 1

  • proven

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Places in this life

3 places, in order
1 2 3
  1. 1 China Birth 27 Jun 1921 · Missionary after 1946
  2. 2 Rockville, Bates County Residence Mar 1927
  3. 3 Greensboro, Guilford County Death 28 Jan 2017

Hollow markers are placed approximately, at the town, county or region.

Family

Father Sterling Wilfong Whitener 1894–1950 Mother Marie A. Hegnauer 1900–bef. 1957
This page Sterling Hegnauer Whitener 1921–2017
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Family tree

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Records

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Also cited as evidence: 1 record filed under relatives
The evidence 7 facts with their grades, 4 sources, and the research notes

Facts

Fact Date Place Grade Sources
Birth 27 Jun 1921 China proven 1 , 4
Residence Mar 1927 Rockville, Bates, Missouri, United States proven 4
Education between 1942 and 1945 proven 1
Missionary after 1946 China proven 1
Author 2013 proven 1
Death 28 Jan 2017 Greensboro, Guilford, North Carolina, United States proven 1
Social work education proven 1

Research notes

  • Sources: His birth, education, career and death come from the notice of his death published by Global Ministries, the mission agency of the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ, on 9 Feb 2017 (seen 27 Sep 2026).1 The 1927 newspaper item was read on the page. The family tree gives his birth and death without sources.2
  • Identity: The Global Ministries notice describes a Sterling Whitener born in China on 27 Jun 1921 to missionary parents.1 Sterling W. Whitener and Marie A. Hegnauer married in 1919 and were missionaries in China until 1927, and "Hegnauer" as his middle name ties him to his mother's family.3, 4, 2 The notice itself has not been checked for his parents' names; his obituary should confirm them.
  • Earlier treatment: Until 27 Sep 2026 the study treated him as living (a private profile), because the family tree's death date had no source. The Global Ministries notice proves his death, and his profile is now public.
  • Living family: His wife and five children are living and are not named here.
  • To read: his obituary in the Greensboro News & Record (Feb 2017; behind a paywall), the Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society's library record of him, his book, and the records of his mission service in China and Hong Kong.
  • This profile is part of the Hegnauer one-name study, as a grandson of Christian Hegnauer.

Working notes

  • Tree birth 1921 China and death 28 Jan 2017 Greensboro unsourced: living (private) until a death record is found
  • DECEASED: Global Ministries notice 9 Feb 2017 (globalministries.org/sterling_whitener): b. 27 Jun 1921 in China to missionary parents, d. 28 Jan 2017 at Friends Homes West, Greensboro, aged 95; Greensboro News & Record obituary (paywalled); E&R Library & Archives agent record (1921-2017). Wife and five children living - not named in public text; daughter Karen 1948-2001

Sources

  1. 1

    "Sterling Whitener," notice of death published by Global Ministries (the common witness of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ), 9 February 2017 (globalministries.org/sterling_whitener): born 27 June 1921 in China to missionary parents; died 28 January 2017 at Friends Homes West, Greensboro, North Carolina, aged 95; graduated from Catawba College (1942) and Yale Divinity School (1945); missionary in China from 1946 and in Hong Kong for fifteen years; later in the social work program of Livingstone College; author of In the Shadow of the Pagoda (2013); survived by his wife and five children (living; not named here); accessed 27 September 2026.

  2. 2

    Hegnauer/Putt family tree, Ancestry.com, tree person 102706142197, Sterling Hegnauer Whitener: born 27 June 1921, China; died 28 January 2017, Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina; son of Sterling Wilfong Whitener and Marie A. Hegnauer (no source cited for any fact).

  3. 3

    "Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1800–1991," database, FamilySearch, Marie A Hegnauer and Sterling W Whitener, 12 June 1919, Butler, Bates County, Missouri (index entry; the record has not been read). FamilySearch record QKZ7-FDK7

    In the archive: O03168

  4. 4

    "Rockville Department," Appleton City Journal (Appleton City, Missouri), 31 March 1927, p. 6: "Rev. Whitner and family have returned from China where they were missionaries, and are at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Chris Hegnauer. They were driven out by the hostilities in China."; image, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com/image/863945723).

Cite this page H0107

Evidence Explained

Hegnauer One-Name Study, “Sterling Hegnauer Whitener (H0107, 1921–2017),” hegnauer.family (https://hegnauer.family/people/h0107-sterling-hegnauer-whitener/ : accessed 28 September 2026).

Chicago (notes)

“Sterling Hegnauer Whitener (H0107, 1921–2017),” hegnauer.family, Hegnauer One-Name Study, accessed September 28, 2026, https://hegnauer.family/people/h0107-sterling-hegnauer-whitener/.

H0107 is this person's permanent number in the study. Names get respelled; the number never changes, so the link and the citation keep working.

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