| Richard Pope White |
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Richard Pope White, 88, died at home in Wilmington on
November 17, 2010. He was born September 8, 1922, in
Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, to Howard and Dessie White.
He attended McGuffey High School in Oxford, Ohio, and
graduated from McKinley High School in Washington,
D.C. Dick earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami
University in Oxford, Ohio, where he was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. He
attended the University of Illinois Graduate School.
His college years were interrupted by his service in the U.S. Army in WWII. He
served in Europe and was a POW in Germany in late 1944, after which he was
awarded the Purple Heart. After the war, he finished college and worked in
procurement for the U.S. Air Force at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in
Dayton, Ohio. He wrote the Air Force Pricing Manual in the late 1950's. He later
moved to Maryland with his family and worked for NASA, the Atomic Energy
Commission and ERDA. After retiring from the government, Dick worked for the
Logistics Management Institute in D.C. He received the Meritorious Civilian
Service Award on August 18, 1966.
On December 19, 1959, the fifteen-year anniversary of his capture by the
German army, Dick married Mearlene Hendrick in Dayton. In December 2009,
they celebrated 50 years of marriage. While they lived in the D.C. area, Dick
served as president of Lakewood Country Club, and he and Mearlene have been
members of Landfall Country Club since their move to Wilmington in 1993.
When Dick was in good health, he volunteered at New Hanover County Public
Library, at Good Shepherd Center, and at St. Andrew's-on-the-Sound Episcopal
Church, where he was a member. He also volunteered for the Democratic Party.
Dick was preceded in death by his parents, by his sister Ruth, and by his infant
twin daughters, Laura and Barbara. He is survived by his wife, Mearlene
Hendrick White; his son, Jeffrey White and his wife, Beth; his son Jonathan
White and his wife, Amy; and his grandchildren, Hannah, Zack, Rena, and Jake
White. He is also survived by his sister, Ila Deshler, and her husband, Walter; his
brother-in-law Mac Kelly, and his many nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank Landfall POA, Lower Cape Fear Hospice,
especially Martha, Beth, Robin, and Jim, everyone at Home Instead Senior Care,
and Leah, Ruth, Geraldine, Nancy and Marie. Dick's final days were made much
easier by the special care of Glinda Newell of Assisted Care, for which the family
is especially grateful.
Dick loved life, his family, their friends, reading, and working crossword puzzles.
He had a wonderful smile, and, like Lou Gehrig before him, proclaimed himself
the luckiest man on earth.
Memorials may be made to Lower Cape Fear Hospice, St.
Andrews-on-the-Sound or Good Shepard Ministries.
The family will receive friends at the home on Sunday evening from 5-7 p.m. A
Memorial Service celebrating Dick's life will be held at St. Andrews-on-the-Sound
Episcopal Church on Monday, November 22, 2010, at 11:00 a.m.
Condolences may be made to the family at www.atlanticcremation.com
Atlantic Cremation Service, Wilmington, NC
Online condolences at StarNewsOnline.com
Published in the Wilmington Star-News on November 19, 2010
November 17, 2010. He was born September 8, 1922, in
Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, to Howard and Dessie White.
He attended McGuffey High School in Oxford, Ohio, and
graduated from McKinley High School in Washington,
D.C. Dick earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami
University in Oxford, Ohio, where he was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. He
attended the University of Illinois Graduate School.
His college years were interrupted by his service in the U.S. Army in WWII. He
served in Europe and was a POW in Germany in late 1944, after which he was
awarded the Purple Heart. After the war, he finished college and worked in
procurement for the U.S. Air Force at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in
Dayton, Ohio. He wrote the Air Force Pricing Manual in the late 1950's. He later
moved to Maryland with his family and worked for NASA, the Atomic Energy
Commission and ERDA. After retiring from the government, Dick worked for the
Logistics Management Institute in D.C. He received the Meritorious Civilian
Service Award on August 18, 1966.
On December 19, 1959, the fifteen-year anniversary of his capture by the
German army, Dick married Mearlene Hendrick in Dayton. In December 2009,
they celebrated 50 years of marriage. While they lived in the D.C. area, Dick
served as president of Lakewood Country Club, and he and Mearlene have been
members of Landfall Country Club since their move to Wilmington in 1993.
When Dick was in good health, he volunteered at New Hanover County Public
Library, at Good Shepherd Center, and at St. Andrew's-on-the-Sound Episcopal
Church, where he was a member. He also volunteered for the Democratic Party.
Dick was preceded in death by his parents, by his sister Ruth, and by his infant
twin daughters, Laura and Barbara. He is survived by his wife, Mearlene
Hendrick White; his son, Jeffrey White and his wife, Beth; his son Jonathan
White and his wife, Amy; and his grandchildren, Hannah, Zack, Rena, and Jake
White. He is also survived by his sister, Ila Deshler, and her husband, Walter; his
brother-in-law Mac Kelly, and his many nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank Landfall POA, Lower Cape Fear Hospice,
especially Martha, Beth, Robin, and Jim, everyone at Home Instead Senior Care,
and Leah, Ruth, Geraldine, Nancy and Marie. Dick's final days were made much
easier by the special care of Glinda Newell of Assisted Care, for which the family
is especially grateful.
Dick loved life, his family, their friends, reading, and working crossword puzzles.
He had a wonderful smile, and, like Lou Gehrig before him, proclaimed himself
the luckiest man on earth.
Memorials may be made to Lower Cape Fear Hospice, St.
Andrews-on-the-Sound or Good Shepard Ministries.
The family will receive friends at the home on Sunday evening from 5-7 p.m. A
Memorial Service celebrating Dick's life will be held at St. Andrews-on-the-Sound
Episcopal Church on Monday, November 22, 2010, at 11:00 a.m.
Condolences may be made to the family at www.atlanticcremation.com
Atlantic Cremation Service, Wilmington, NC
Online condolences at StarNewsOnline.com
Published in the Wilmington Star-News on November 19, 2010
