David Richard White

He was born on January 10, 1945 in Charleston, WV and was raised in Belle, WV. He was the son of the late Clarence “Turni” White and Erma (Morris) White.

He was also preceded in death by his brother, Donald Lee White.

He was a 1962 graduate of DuPont High School and was licensed into the gospel ministry by his home church, Judson Baptist Church of Belle, WV. He then attended Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky where he graduated in 1966 with a B.A. degree in English. He and Connie

(King) were high school sweethearts and married in August of 1966 and then left for Fort Worth, Texas. They spent the next five years working while David earned his Master of Divinity Degree from

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Their first born son Shannon was born in May 1971 and he and Connie returned back to WV in June 1971.

In September of 1971, David accepted the call to pastor the First Baptist Church of Racine, WV. David served the church in Racine until April 1974. David and Connie moved to Pineville, WV where David pastored Cook Memorial Baptist Church. Connie soon gave birth to their second child, Shelby, in October 1974, and their third child, Kerri, born in April, 1980.

In March of 1982, David and his family moved to Oak Hill, WV where David pastored Oak Hill Baptist Church until 2007, when he retired from full time ministry. From 2008 to May 2020, David served as Associate Pastor of Outreach and Discipleship and AWANA pastor for the Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Hurricane, WV. After David re-retired from serving at Mount Vernon Baptist, he and Connie returned to Oak Hill to be closer to two of their children, Shannon and Kerri. From 2020 to 2024, David served as Pastor Emeritus for Oak Hill Baptist Church.

While serving four different WV state convention churches, David’s involvement in community, area, and state functions were numerous. David served as Camp Pastor at Camp Cowen, served on several different state convention committees, and taught numerous classes for the WV State Convention School of Christian Studies, which he helped establish.

David was a sports enthusiast and enjoyed keeping up with his three favorite professional teams, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Dallas Cowboys, and the LA Lakers. He also enjoyed college teams Marshall University, WVU, and Georgetown College. He loved playing sports in his high school and college years and later enjoyed playing golf. He liked to share that he scored two holes-in-one during his amateur golfing years. He also enjoyed collecting sports memorabilia as a hobby, most of which were related to his favorite teams. His collection was fondly referred to as “The Shrine” by those closest to him. His love of sports also led him to serve with the WV Fellowship of Christian Athletes for over 15 years.

During his more than 40 years of pastoral ministry, David touched the lives of numerous people, young and old, through conducting funerals, weddings, baptisms, and church related activities. He loved serving his Lord in ministering to all those in need.

David is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Connie White; son Shannon Richard White (Michael Ann), grandson Nathaniel White, and granddaughters Katie Dulcie and Kayleigh Rice of Oak Hill; daughter Shelby Hallquist (Kevin) and grandsons Livingstone Hallquist and Landry Hallquist of Greensboro, NC; daughter Kerri White of Oak Hill; several nieces and nephews as well as great-nieces and nephews.

A graveside service will be held on Tuesday, April 2 at 3:00pm at Tyler Mountain Memory Gardens in Cross Lanes, WV. Reverend Ron McClung and Dr. Lawrence Hoptry of Mount Vernon Baptist Church will be presiding. A memorial service will be held On Saturday, April 6, at 2:00pm at Oak Hill Baptist Church in Oak Hill, WV. From 12:00pm-2:00pm, the family will receive visitors and a reception will follow the service.

Memorial donations may be made to the RMMO (Retired Ministers and Missionaries Offering) through Oak Hill Baptist Church. Online condolences may be expressed to the family by visiting the website of Tyler Mountain Memory Gardens.