Obituary: James Hale White

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 on March 22, 1924, in Meeker, where he spent his childhood. Jim was 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 World War II. After his honorable discharge in 1947, he returned to Colorado A&M University, earning his bachelor of science degree in horticulture 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 (BuRec) in Durango as a materials technician. In 1963, he accepted a transfer within the BuRec 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 BuRec 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 28 at 2 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 522 White Ave., 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.