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Oliver Clair White

1926 – 2018

Oliver Clair White was called home to the Lord on the 12th day of July, 2018, at 92 years old. He was known as “Ollie” and as “Clair” by his family on the East Coast. He was the fifth of 10 children born to Adam Monroe White and Margaret Bertha Newcomb, in Rossiter, Pa.

Growing up in a large family taught Ollie to cherish family and to work hard and with determination. He carried this determination throughout his life.

As a child, Ollie knew Margaret Louise Pardee, and their childhood friendship grew into their adult years. At the age of 18, he joined the Army and served in their Corps of Engineers in Germany. Upon discharge from military service in 1946 he returned home and married Margaret, who had been waiting for him.

There were few employment opportunities in his small hometown area, so in 1947 after the birth of their first daughter, Janice, Ollie and Margaret took the train to Niagara Falls, N.Y., to join a brother and sister who had already moved there. He accepted a position with Bell Aircraft, launching a lifelong career in aerospace.

By the early 1950s, television found its way into millions of American homes. Ollie rode this wave of technology and created a side-job by learning how to repair them.

Ollie and Margaret had four more children: Linda, Dennis, Kathy and Judy. In the early 1960s he accepted a position with Aerojet, in California, and his family of seven drove across country to the West Coast. After working many more years for Martin Marietta as a quality control engineer, he decided to retire. It was during a trip to Idaho, and with all children grown, that they decided to build a house in Hayden Lake. In 1992, they officially retired and moved.

Ollie liked to hunt and fish. He traveled to Alaska, Scotland and throughout Europe with Margaret. In 1998 she passed. He sold their home and built another on Lake Coeur d’Alene. He was married to Esther Wayman until her passing in 2013. Ollie lived in his home on the lake for most of his remaining years, with his son. He was proud of his military service to the country, and in the last years would be seen wearing a ball cap inscribed with his later role as “World War II Veteran” or with “ARMY” written on the front. He only bought American cars.

Ollie was a member of the Masons, and during his life in Idaho he was their Uncle Sam clown, traveling with the troupe to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Spokane, Wash., and to assisted living communities in the area. He was a man of many talents: son, husband, father, brother, fisherman, horse-shoer, golfer, veteran, gardener, contractor, TV repairman, quality control engineer, clown and a helping hand to anyone who needed help. Ollie is survived by his sister, Becky; his five children; eleven grandchildren; sixteen great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild and lots of adoring nieces and nephews. We will greatly miss you.

A graveside ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. on Friday, July 20, 2018, at Riverview Cemetery, 1001 Lincoln Way, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Spokane, Washington, (509) 455-7844.