William Carlton White

CHATHAM, Va. - William Carlton White, 91, a prominent attorney of Chatham, Virginia, passed away Friday night, March 26, 2004 after a lengthy illness. The son of Myrtle Coleman Reynolds White and George Townes Rison White, he was born October 8, 1912, in Chatham and practiced law here for nearly 50 years. His family reached back to Francis Henry and the Eanes brothers who participated in the Revolutionary War.

After graduating from Chatham High School and Hargrave Military Academy, White attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, from which he graduated in 1939. He was a member of the UNC track team and on the UNC relay team that ran in the renowned Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden in 1938 and 1939, winning gold medals both times. He was also a member of the Carolina Monogram Club.

As a Naval officer in the Pacific during World War II, he served with distinction on the admirals' staffs aboard the heavy cruisers USS Boston, USS Baltimore and USS Quincy. During nearly three years at sea, he participated in the attacks on Wake Island, Guam, and Iwo Jima and the battle for Leyte Gulf, and witnessed the signing of the peace treaty in Tokyo harbor. For his service, he was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory medal and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon.

After the war, White graduated from the University of Virginia Law School, where he was elected president of his Law School class and was elected to the prestigious Omicron Delta Kappa honorary society.

During his long legal career, he served his native town and county as a General District Court Judge, attorney for Pittsylvania County Schools and attorney for the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors. He practiced before the Virginia Supreme Court. He was a devoted father, a lifetime member of Chatham Presbyterian Church, and an avid outdoorsman and sports enthusiast.

White is survived by his wife, Meta Lois Diffenderfer White of the home; his son, W. Carlton White II, of Charlottesville, Virginia; his daughter Theckla Elizabeth White Williams of Pensacola, Florida; and his daughter Laura Mathilde White Alderson and granddaughter, Laura Elizabeth Alderson, both of Raleigh, North Carolina. Other survivors include brothers Charles Richard White of Troy, Michigan, George Rison White of Indianapolis, Indiana, and Dorothea White Hylton of Blacksburg, Virginia.

Funeral services will be conducted at the Chatham Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, March 31, 2004 at 11:00 a.m. by the Rev. William M. Plonk. Burial will be in the Chatham Burial Park. The family will receive friends at Scott Funeral Home from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and at other times will be at the residence.