William Edward White (Eatonton)

William “Bill” Edward White, 76, passed away as the new day dawned on July 17, 2010, at the Georgia War Veterans Home in Milledgeville, Georgia. Bill was born at Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in the early morning hours, October 3, 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression. His father paid the doctor with hay for is horse and paid the hospital with potatoes. Bill’s father was William Arthur “Art” White and his mother was Mable De Pue White. Growing up, Bill lived with his family south of Scotts, Michigan, on one of the family farms. Bill graduated from Climax High School in 1951 at 17 years of age (he graduated early due to skipping a grade). After being drafted into the Army in June, 1954, he completed his basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. He was shipped to occupied Berlin, Germany, in December, 1954, before the war, and was there until his honorable discharge in May, 1956. When Bill returned to the States, he met the love of his life, June Timm. They were married on May 25, 1957. In September, Bill began college at Western Michigan University where he studied electrical engineering. In 1959, Bill was baptized and began a lifelong membership in the Methodist Church. He also joined the Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycee’s) and was involved in many community activities (car safety and tornado clean up in Elkhart, Indiana). In 1960 he began his very successful structural engineering career. He worked for Kawneer in Niles, Michigan. By 1969, Bill and June had five children: Laura, Jill, the twins Bill and Linda, and baby April. In September 1969, he moved the family from Michigan to Harrisonburg, Virginia. He was responsible for hiring and setting up the Drafting Department for the new Kawneer plant being built there. In January, 1970, he found a home in Broadway, Virginia, where the family lived until 1977. While in Virginia he was a member of the Lions Club, Elks Club, was a Sunday school teacher and served on the Council of Ministries at the church. In 1979 Bill accepted a job at Fentron Architectural Products in Seattle, Washington and moved the family cross-country. He was very successful in his job, received several promotions, and was assistant plant manager in 1981 when he decided to make a move to Benton, Kentucky when he joined Alucabond Company as their engineering manager. The new job in Kentucky included travel to the St. Louis Home office and to job sites in Seattle, Denver, Atlanta, South America, Puerto Rico and Trinidad, which he enjoyed immensely. In 1987, Bill accepted a job in Dallas, Texas with CDC, Inc. as a consultant, then moved on to join the Reynolds Metals team in Atlanta, Georgia, as the engineering manager. In 1992, Bill and June moved to Indianapolis when he took a job with Citadel Architectural Products. After being laid off on his 62nd birthday in October of 1995 due to company cut-backs, he decided to retire and he and June moved to Eatonton, Georgia to live in their retirement cottage on Lake Sinclair. In 1998, Bill came out of retirement to take a job with the Oconee National Forest – US Forest Service. He worked as a receptionist there until hip pain curtailed the work in 2005. In 2006, he had hip replacement surgery with a very bad outcome leading to 5 years of further surgeries, physical therapy, hospital visits and spent his final two years of life at the Georgia War Veterans Home in Milledgeville, Georgia. Bill is survived by his wife, June, of 53 years. Survivors besides his wife are his daughter, Laura Litten (Woodbridge, VA); daughter and son-in-law, Jillian and Doug Chandler (Lynnwood, WA); son and daughter-in-law, Bill and Cindy White (Mountlake Terrace, WA); daughter and son-in-law, Linda and Reza Zarei (Highlands Ranch, CO); daughter and son-in-law, April and Robert Lyons (Kentucky); and seven grandchildren: Bill, Mitch, Dean, Deanna, Joey, Patrick and William. A memorial service will be held at the Eatonton First United Methodist Church, 11:00 a.m., on Tuesday, July 20th. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Eatonton First United Methodist Church.

William Edward White (Eatonton)

October 3, 1933 - July 17, 2010