James Hale "Jim" WHITE
Marriages
Evelyn Marie "Pat" Burnside - June 2, 1950
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 6B Death Notice - June 14, 2013
James “Jim” White, 89, Grand Junction, died June 11, 2013, in
Grand Junction.
Services will be at 2 p.m. June 28 at First United Methodist
Church.
Survivors include his wife, Evelyn “Pat”; two sons, David and
Dennis, both of Grand Junction; one daughter, Dana Chase of Centennial;
seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Memorial contributions may be made to First United Methodist
Church, 522 White Ave., Grand Junction, CO 81501.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 3D - June 23, 2013
This is a story of enduring love
and devotion. Our beloved husband,
father and grandfather,
James Hale White, passed away
on June 11, 2013.
Jim was born to Luther and
Agnes White in Meeker on March
22, 1924, where he spent his
childhood. Jim graduated from
Rio Blanco County High School
in 1942. He was 17 years old when the Japanese attacked our Pacific
Fleet at Pearl Harbor. As soon as he could, Jim enlisted in the
Army to help fight WWII. After his honorable discharge in 1947, he
returned to Colorado A&M University, earning his BS in Horticul -
ture the following year. Jim then returned to Meeker and joined his
father as a partner in the family's nursery business for the next seven
years.
In the spring of 1949, he agreed to serve as a chaperone at the
Meeker High School prom. It was there that he met the love of his
life, Evelyn Marie "Pat" Burnside. The two were married on June 2,
1950 at the Methodist Church in Meeker. They had two sons, David
and Dennis, and a daughter, Dana. After several years working with
his father, Jim concluded that there simply was not enough business
in Meeker to support two families. So, in 1955, Jim and Pat bought a
home and a nursery in Durango. In 1961, Jim went to work for the
Bureau of Reclamation in Durango as a materials technician. In
1963, he accepted a transfer within the Bureau to Grand Junction to
be closer to his aging parents. Jim served as a soil scientist and later
as a technical publications writer for the Bureau until his retirement
in 1984.
Throughout their lives, Jim and Pat were only apart when Jim accepted
an assignment in Africa. He traveled with a team to the
Sudan to evaluate the possibility of building an irrigation dam on the
Nile River for the benefit of the Sudanese people.
In their 63 years of marriage, Jim and Pat were blessed with seven
grandchildren, Bryan (Stacy Schwarz) White, Jayne White, Kevin
White, Bridger Chase, Hayley Chase, Cody White and Tanner
White, and one great grandchild, Alex James.
After each retired, Jim and Pat were active volunteers for the First
United Methodist Church in Grand Junction and the American Heart
Association.
A Memorial Service will be held Friday, June 28th at 2:00 p.m. at
the First United Methodist Church, 522 White Avenue in Grand
Junction. Reception at the church will follow.
Jim was a beautiful, thoughtful, compassionate man who spent his
life in devotion to Christ and his family. We were blessed to have
him for 89 years.
