James H. White, Jr. (Jim), 77, passed away peacefully at his home in Bootjack, California, on November 12, 2021, with his wife of 53 years, Vivian (Vivi) by his side. Jim bravely faced a brief bout of multiple myeloma, having witnessed his own parents, James H. White and Elizabeth R. White, and his eldest daughter, Shannon Greene, succumb to cancer before him. He leaves his wife, daughters, Caitlin and Casey, sister Marilyn Mulcahy, son-in-law and granddaughter Kevin and Deidre Greene, sister-in-law Marilyn Bergkamp, and Aunt Lorraine Gieniec-Schwartzbach.
While Jim lived in and traveled to many places around the world, he remained a southern boy at heart. Jim was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Jimmy spent his youth in Japan, New York, Alabama, and Spain, but Mobile, Alabama was his favorite. He loved to tell stories about visiting his grandparents in Texas and Arkansas, growing up fishing and hunting with his dad, playing on his high school baseball, basketball, and state champion football teams, and adventures with his sister in Madrid, Spain, where his family moved his final year in high school. Jim found his way to UC Riverside for college, where he enjoyed playing football and rugby. Prior to UCR, Jim attend Valley Junior College. He flirted with and then finally asked out the biology lab assistant, Vivian. They both graduated from UCR in 1968.
Following a family military tradition, Jim was an officer in the United States Navy. After receiving the Officer rank of Ensign at Pensacola NAS in 1970, he was stationed at Moffett Field NAS with Patrol Squadron 19. He served two tours in the Philippines and Okinawa. After four years of active duty, Jim joined Reserve Patrol Squadron 91. He was proud of the accomplishments of Crew 5 winning the Liberty Bell trophy in September of 1977 for outstanding ASW performance. This from the plane Commander Jim McMahon, “The competition was for all VP Naval Reserve Squadrons Coast to Coast. The Trophy is currently displayed at Moffett Field Museum. Crew 5 was the first West Coast crew to win the award. Jim was the Quarterback, and what a job well done.” Jim retired as a Commander with VP91 in 1991 after 16 years of service.
During his time in the Navy Reserve, Jim also earned a Masters in Business Administration, 1976, and Masters in Economics, 1981, from Santa Clara University, where he solidified his love for math, statistics, and analytics, as well as an enduring, unconditional love for the Santa Clara Broncos. He was the Chief Financial Director for the Villages Golf and Country Club for twenty years, and was remembered for “dedicated service, commitment to excellence, and relentless pursuit of perfection.” Jim was instrumental in the financial arrangement and completion of the new Villages Golf and Country Clubhouse, which included a full-service restaurant, lounge, and banquet halls. From Megan Flanagan, the current financial director, “Jim also started the investment portfolio for reserve funds. He wrote many of the financial policies and accounting procedures that we still use today.” After retirement, Jim enjoyed writing programs in Excel for financial analyses, taking accounting and statistics courses, and could often be found doing calculus problems to “keep his mind sharp”.
After retiring, Jim and Vivi moved to Bootjack from San Jose, CA, to enjoy the Northern Sierra mountains. Over the years, Jim hiked most of the day-hike trails in Yosemite such as Half Dome, Four Mile Trail, and Clouds Rest. They also loved traveling the country to hike in other National and State Parks. Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Big Bend, Arches, and Canyonlands were among their favorites. More recent hikes included May Lake, Vogelsang, and Lukens Lake in Yosemite. .Jim and Vivi felt blessed to have the last 13 years of great hiking as partners. Jim’s whole life was filled with rich adventures.
Finally, staying grounded to his roots, Jim was a devout Presbyterian and loved studying the Bible. He especially leaned on his faith during his illness and wanted his family to embrace his passing because he knew he was going home to be with those who had passed before and our Savior, Lord Jesus Christ. Jim will be laid to rest at California Central Coastal Veterans Cemetery with Military Honors on December 9, 2021. Two of his favorite charities here in Mariposa were Manna House and Yosemite Conservancy. As Jim would say about his final journey home, “Blessings from the trail. Best hike ever with a Ceiling And Visibility Unlimited (CAVU)!”
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