Henry Edmunds White ’47, of Davidson, N.C., loving and devoted husband and father, married 67 years to Carol (Meade) White, passed away quietly in his sleep on May 1, 2012. He was born in Suchowfu, China, to Emma White and Locke White 1913, missionaries in China. He entered Davidson in 1942. During a summer vacation he met Carol Meade, who was singing in the choir of the Presbyterian church in Richmond, Ky., where his father served as minister. They married in 1945, and White left his new bride and his studies to serve two years in the U.S. Air Corps. He returned to Davidson and graduated in 1947, then attended UNC Chapel Hill and the University of South Carolina for graduate school.
Throughout his life, White loved sports and was a highly successful athlete. At Davidson he was captain of the Davidson basketball team and participated in football, tennis, track, and baseball. In 1947, after graduating, he taught and coached at Darlington School in Rome, Ga. He also became an assistant principal of the newly opened Eau Claire High School in Columbia, S.C. He later became the assistant dean of students at Davidson. In 1955, White became dean of admissions and financial aid at the college and served in that position for 25 years. While he was dean, he served on the Committee on Guidance for College, the College Entrance Examination Board of New York, and the board of College Admissions Center of Evanston, Ill. He served on the North Carolina Governor’s Scholarship Board and was also on the board of National Merit. In 1979 he decided to pursue his passion for sports and left his beloved Davidson to serve as athletic director at Southwestern College for five years. He then returned to Davidson for his retirement.
White devoted much of his time to helping others who were less fortunate through his work at the Davidson College Presbyterian Church and at Habitat for Humanity, an organization which he helped start in the Davidson area. He taught Sunday school over the years at Davidson College Presbyterian Church, where he was a deacon and elder. Over the years he excelled in tennis, traveling around the Southeast, participating in and winning numerous tournaments. White won the N.C. State Doubles Championship the week before suffering a stroke.
In 2007, he was inducted into the Davidson College Athletics Hall of Fame for his athletic prowess at Davidson. Past employees, friends, and family honored him with a scholarship established in his name to provide financial aid to Davidson College students.
He is survived by his wife, Carol, 400 Avinger Ln., Apt. 369, Davidson, NC 28036-6700; his three children, Henry Edmunds Jr., Susan, and Locke ’80; and his grandchildren, Hope, Katherine, and Jordan. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brothers, Locke Jr. ’39 and Richard, and his sister, Louise Walker.
Memorial contributions in his honor may be made to the H. Edmunds White Scholarship Fund, Davidson College, Box 7174, Davidson, NC 28035-7174.