ARTHUR FRANCIS WHITE

Born: September 9, 1917
Died: September 21, 2008

Arthur F. White was born in Boston, the son of Lawrence Patrick White and Mary Ellen Trimlett White. His mother died in his youth and his father remarried Cecelia Curtis.

Art White was the oldest member of the Class of 1962 and had an extraordinary life and career long before he joined our class for junior year in September 1960. After he graduated from East Boston High School, he worked with the depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps. He then joined Pan American Airways in 1937. He became a flight radio officer and navigator, serving in the Naval Air Transport Service on long transpacific flights during World War II after Pan Am was taken over by the Navy.

After his honorable discharge at war's end, Art worked as a Ground Supervisor for United Airlines and then for Bradley Air Freight. Subsequently, he was a sales representative with Emery Air Freight.

Art then joined the ministry. In 1956 he entered Bangor Theological Seminary, earning the credits for his Bachelor of Divinity degree. He won the Morris Prize and was president of the Christian Association and manager of the Seminary Bookstore. He received his diploma in 1960 but had to await completion of his studies at Yale before being awarded his B.D. degree. In June 1962 Art earned his B.A. in American Studies with our class. At Yale he lived off campus in New Haven with his wife Evelyn Olise Christensen, whom he had married on October 2, 1948, and their 3 children.

After Yale Art served as an assistant minister at First Congregational Church in Blue Hill, Maine. He next was pastor of First Congregational Church in Boxford, Mass., for more than 10 years. He earned a doctorate in Pastoral Counseling in 1974 at Andover Newton Theological Seminary during this time. Art then retired for two years before resuming his religious work. He served as Director of Christian Conference Ground. In 1985 he and Evelyn were in Cambridge, England where they studied at the United Reform Church Seminary as visiting scholars and also traveled extensively in England and Scotland.

In September 1986 he became pastor of the United Church of Christ in Silverton, Colorado. In our 25th Reunion Book, Art observed that, "Now, after 3 months at 9,318 feet above sea level, Evelyn and I can walk and climb without running out of breath."

Subsequently, Art served in churches in Princeville, Kauai, Hawaii and Hartford. His last assignment was as minister of the Windermere Beach Congregational Church in Milford, Connecticut. He retired for the last time in 2004 at age 87 and relocated to Pennsylvania. He died on September 21, 2008, in Malamoras, PA, age 91.

Art and Evelyn had 5 children. Evelyn survived him as did 4 of their children: Patricia White, Cynthia Poulin, Pamela Caraffa, and Christopher Nelson White, Yale class of 1987. He also left 8 grandchildren, 4 great grandchildren and his brother Peter. He was predeceased by his son Gregory Trimlett White, who died in 1989, and two brothers, John and James.