Paul Anthony White Jr.

He leaves his beloved daughters Paula (Michael) Kenney and Claudia White, sisters Patricia Welborn and Virginia “Ginny” White, and brother Robert “Bobby” White. He was preceded in death by Meta Ann (Knecht) White, his wife of 64 years, his mother Ann Gittinger White, father, Paul A White Sr., brother Charles White, and sister Geraldeane “Gerre” Gibson. He is remembered by family and friends for his kindness, generosity, quick wit, and awful jokes.

Paul grew up in Kansas City and was a proud Midwesterner, always eager to share his love of Missouri and Kansas history. He was a supporter of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City Symphony, Friends of Chamber Music, Kansas City Jazz Series and more. He and Meta Ann enjoyed concert-going, including occasional trips to see the Chicago Lyric Opera or to see their musician daughter Claudia perform. The pinnacle of their travels was a trip to England and Scotland with daughter Paula, highlighted for Paul -- a scholar of all things Winston Churchill -- by visits to Churchill’s home, the War Rooms, and other historic sites.

Paul proudly worked at Hallmark Cards from the age of 16 until he retired 46 years later. He joked that only Don Hall had been there longer. Starting his career in manufacturing, he held various managerial roles throughout the company with projects that included the annual dreaded task of coordinating the operations group budget. He was instrumental in implementing the use of Apple/Macintosh personal computers at Hallmark as one of the first companies to utilize this new product. He served in the US Naval Reserves in aviation and joked that you couldn’t serve on a ship in landlocked Kansas. He graduated from Paseo High School in 1951. When his daughters were young, he graduated from the University of Missouri -- Kansas City (UMKC) after attending night school to finish his degree.

An avid reader and gifted writer, he won accolades for a short story he wrote about his grandfather’s country store that was featured in a university publication. He loved history and, had he not built a career at Hallmark, he would have loved to have been a history professor. His family joked about his brain being “Paul’s Almanac of Fiction and Fact” because if he didn’t know the answer, he could come up with something so creative it seemed totally plausible. You did NOT want to play on an opposing team of Trivial Pursuit unless you could stump him with a Popular Culture TV question. For decades he lamented being felled by the “Who played Wally Cleaver?” question.

If you needed something organized, Paul was your man. Band fruit sales. Weekly golf outings. Class reunions. Monthly luncheons. Girl Scout cookie drop-offs. He was someone who could be counted on to gather the people and supplies and make it happen -- all while having a good time. He loved both playing and watching golf and once had a Hallmark group he called “The Duffers” who met and played most weekends. Amazingly, he achieved a hole-in-one during an outing with his Hallmark friends. He was excited to attend practice rounds of The Masters at Augusta National, as well as visit St. Andrews in Scotland. Paul loved cooking and good food and hosted many dinners for family and friends. He was known for his omelets, Plaza III steak soup served every Christmas Eve, and he could shake (gently) a mean martini.

His family is grateful for the care he received -- especially in the last year after Meta Ann passed. Because he was one of few residents in his assisted living community without dementia, he was a favorite of nurses and staff. Many came by to say goodbye to him and share stories.

Services will be held at Mt. Moriah, Newcomer & Freeman Funeral Home, 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City, MO. Visitation Monday, December 30, 2024, at 11 am followed by private interment.

In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged to First Ladies Farm and Sanctuary, a small, non-profit animal rescue in Florida run by his daughter Claudia, which he referred to as “The Cat Farm,” or the charity of your choice.