Michael Lee White

1949 - 2022

MICHAEL LEE WHITE

July 19, 1949 July 10, 2022

Mike White was born in 1949 to Dust Bowl migrants and raised in Hilltop, just south of Bakersfield and north of Lamont. Times were tough in 1950's Hilltop. Those tough times shaped Mike for his entire life. He credits his Grandmother Emmaline Evans for teaching him about the values of family, love and gentleness. These values Mike would practice right up to his passing.

As a young adult Mike worked several jobs before taking a job with The Honda Center as a mechanic preparing old broken motorcycles for resale. Eventually Mike moved into sales and was promoted to store manager. The years he spent in sales at the Honda Center were the golden years of the profession. Mike helped to make The Honda Center the highest volume Honda Motorcycle dealer in California. It is quite possible no one sold more motorcycles in Kern County or California than Mike White.

In the 80's Mike transitioned from selling motorcycles to used cars. He opened his own dealership, White's Used Cars which he operated until December 2021. Over the decades he built a reputation as an honest person to buy a used car from. Mike specialized in affordable cars and trucks and loved helping limited credit and low income customers. He often financed the contracts himself and never charged interest. Hundreds of local folks were able to buy cars because of Mike's generosity.

More important than being good in business, Mike was determined to be a good family man. At an early age Mike met the love of his life, Carolyn Lorren. They were married on February 14, 1969. Together they raised and loved three children, Danica, John and Jessica. Mike was a devoted father. He would eventually become a doting and devoted grandfather to Derek, Trinady, Cheyenne and Amber. Nothing seemed to give Mike more joy than cooking, traveling and spending time with his family. He especially loved family road trips and vacations. He often spoke fondly of those memorable trips. A few of Mike's favorite destinations were Reno, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin and Las Vegas.

Mike was preceded in death by his parents Betty and A.B. White and his daughter Danica. Left to carry on his loving legacy are his wife Carolyn, his children John and Jessica, his grandchildren Derek, Trinady, Cheyenne and Amber, and his brothers, Alvin, Dennis and Phillip. Also left to cherish him in memory are many nephews, nieces, cousins and friends including cousin and friend Jim Haggard.

If you were fortunate enough to have known Mike you knew he was humble, gentle, genuine and kind. Mike didn't set out to impress anyone. He lived to provide for his family and to be a good man. He lived the way his grandmother taught him so many years before during those tough times in Hilltop. Times change, people come and people go. Mike White believed good values never changed and were always the best means to live by.

Memorial service will be held at 12:00pm on Tuesday, August 16, 2022, at the 1933 Speakeasy, 7900 Downing Ave., Bakersfield, CA.

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