Donald Milton White

Donald Milton “Don” White was born in Mineral Wells, Texas on July 8, 1934, to parents, Howard Milton “Milton” White and Mary Elizabeth (Magro) White. He was the only brother to older sister, Frances, twin sister, Diane, and younger sister, Mary Louise. The family moved several times across central and north Texas during Don’s childhood, before eventually settling in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas where he graduated from Sunset High School in 1953.

Don spent four years as a member of Company-A Engineers in the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M College, earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Geology in 1957. Following graduation, he served in the US Army Corps of Engineers, obtaining the rank of 1st Lieutenant. Don worked for a short period of time as a field geologist for Atlantic Refining Co. and later sold new construction homes for custom builder Fox & Jacobs. In 1963, he obtained a Texas real estate broker’s license and began pursuing commercial real estate transactions in the emerging Fort Worth market.

Don moved his family to Houston in the mid-1970s to help his firm expand its presence, and in 1981, he began working for his own account when he formed Don White & Co. Realtors. Over the ensuing 40-plus years, he invested in and brokered commercial real estate transactions across the country both large and small, eventually having the opportunity to hire and train each of his sons and a grandson in his business. Over the course of his sixty-year career, he maintained a consistent focus on value-based investment and held to the core principles of diligence and hard work that were the foundation of his success.

Following a brief struggle with congestive heart failure, Don passed away, peacefully, on the morning of November 1, 2023. He spent his last days at the family home in Kingwood, Texas with his wife, Kathleen, at his side. He was preceded in death by parents, H.M. and Mary White, sisters, Frances Ratliff and Diane Brooks, and countless good friends made along the way in his 89-year journey through life. He is survived by his sister, Mary Louise “Lou” Theisen of Carrollton, TX; first wife, Nancy Jean (Jennings) White of Kerrville, TX; daughter, Beverly Jean White of Humble, TX; son David Milton White, daughter-in-law, Karen, grandchildren, Christopher and Kimberly of Atascocita, TX; son, Stephen Randall White, daughter-in-law, Erin, grandchildren, Kes and Aaron, of San Leon, TX; son, Daniel Edward White, daughter-in-law, Carolyn, grandchildren, Daniel Joseph and David Nicholas of Houston, TX; and his loving wife of over fifty years, Kathleen Lillian (Weisse) White. He will be remembered by all who knew him as a man who could not resist the opportunity to take up another person’s problems and carry them on his shoulders as though they had always been his own.