Thomas R. White of Odessa, Texas, formerly of Callicoon, died on Friday, May 25, 2012 in Odessa. The son of Francis X. White and Marie J. White, he was born in Rochester, N.Y. on May 5, 1923.
He was a graduate of Harvard College, Class of 1944, with a degree in architectural engineering. He served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific as a lieutenant (j.g.) during World War II. After the war, he pursued graduate studies in history and literature at Columbia University and Boston University.
Following a career in advertising and real estate, and as a city editor of the Middletown Times-Herald Record, he relocated to Sullivan County, where he served as editor of the Sullivan County Democrat and later as an editor and board member of Highlights for Children in Honesdale, Pa.
He is the author of “Bill W: A different kind of hero,” a book for middle school children, and presently appears as a commentator in a new documentary film about Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.
He is survived by his wife, Leah McAfee White of Odessa, his son Joseph B. White and daughter-in-law Laurie Mayers of Plymouth, MI; two grandchildren: Anna Mary and Sam Mayers White; a brother, Marc A. White of Cambridge, Ma.; and fifteen nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by a brother, Frank X. White Jr., and a sister, Patricia Harrington. His first marriage to Mary C. White of Callicoon ended in divorce.
A memorial mass was celebrated on Tuesday, May 29, at Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church on Odessa, with Fr. Mark Woodruff officiating. Inurnment was made in the columbarium at the Church.
Memorials may be made to Hospice House, 903 N. Sam Houston, Odessa, TX 79761.