Donald Gilbert White
Parker-Rhoden Funeral Home
Mr. Donald Gilbert White passed away January 12, 2021 after a battle with the Covid-19 virus. He was born in Elkin, NC on December 23, 1930. “Whitey”, as he was affectionately called, was the son of the late Marjorie Osborne White and Guy Suttle White. He is survived by his sister Margaretha Bullen, his two daughters Suzanne Miley Christie (Andrew) and Cynthia White Jansen (David), and his four grandchildren, Brandon Miley, Jordan Christie, Spencer Christie and Tristan Jansen. He joins his wife and love of his life, Helen Brown White, in eternity as she passed away July 24, 2017, after a courageous and lengthy battle with dementia.
Whitey graduated from High Point College in High Point, NC where he earned a BS degree in General Sciences and a Commission as an Officer (Ensign) in the US Navy on March 3, 1957. He began his US Navy career in Virginia Beach, VA where he met Helen Brown and later married her in Walterboro, SC. From there, they moved to stations in Quonset Point, RI; Beeville, TX; Reykjavik, Iceland; and finally, New Orleans, LA.
Whitey rose to the rank of Lieutenant by the end of his naval career. In the early years, he became a pilot after successfully completing his training in Pensacola, Florida. As a pilot, his most notable duties were to perform sea rescues and to recover astronauts from their capsules following their space missions. He later served as a Navy Recruiter and Trainer, specifically focused on pilot recruiting and training. He served both during the Korean and Vietnam War periods, he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal for his service in the latter.
Following his more than 15 years of US Navy service, Whitey and his family relocated to Walterboro, SC in July 1969, where he established a mini-warehouse storage business that he successfully ran for more than 35 years.
Whitey will be missed by many as he made friends wherever he went and was true and loyal until the end. He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. He made a positive impact on others through his kindness, compassion, determination and wonderful, whimsical sense of humor.
Graveside funeral services will be held for the immediate family at a date and time to be determined.
Memorials may be made to The Epworth Children's Home, Bethel United Methodist Church, or The Alzheimer's Association.
