Eugene C. White, Sr.

He was One of the Good Ones

It comes with great sadness, and some relief for him, to share that our father, Eugene C. White Sr., passed away peacefully after a long period of hospice care at home. Our mother, Dolores (Pritulsky) White, his bride for over 61 devoted years, provided primary care to enable him to be comfortable until the end. His surviving family also includes son Eugene Jr. (Eug) and his wife Patti (Hedden) White in Nazareth PA, son Jeffrey White in Alburtis PA, son Douglas White and fiancée Georgia Vavoularis in Palm Harbor FL, granddaughter Kirby (White) Fenstermacher and her husband Justin Fenstermacher and great-grandson Ford Fenstermacher. Loving step-grandchildren are Alex and Lauren Sassaman, and Kyan Morgen.

As for the play-by-play of a long, productive life- he was a Bethlehem resident since birth on July 22 1937. He was the younger brother of the late Charles White to their parents Clark White and Jean (Mateer) White. After graduation from Bethlehem (now Liberty) High School in 1956, he enjoyed working in Coeur d'Alene Idaho for the US Forest Service, then served in the US Army 34th Signal Battalion, rendering signal support to the VII Army Corps in Germany during the Berlin Wall crisis in the early 1960s. He met and married his wife in 1965 and worked at Bethlehem Steel as a sampler for the main laboratory, the coal carbonization laboratory, coke plant, and earned nearly a full pension with their plant patrol team. After the plant downsized in 1985, he enjoyed another full career as a bus driver for Bethlehem Area School District, where his favorite route was for Moravian Academy students, where memorably, each student kindly embraced him before unloading his final run in 2015.

He was a regular member of Wesley United Methodist Church, where he sang choir, served as usher, and competed with their softball team for many years. His memberships included Bethlehem American Legion Post 379, Bethlehem Masonic Lodge 283, Masonic Christmas City High Twelve Club, and the Wanderers Athletic Association.

Volunteerism and hobbies included Cancer Boutique at the Rink (now called Boutique for Hope), parental leadership within YMCA Indian Guides and Northeast Little League, volunteer server for Bethlehem's Masonic Temple, gardening, woodworking, and having coffee during many mornings with his breakfast crew of friends, "the Goosey Guys".

Our cherished memories include his home-grown cherry tomatoes, pickled red beets and juice for our hard-boiled eggs, homemade birdhouses, sly sense of humor, and ever-present support of his children's and grandchild's many endeavors.

We are grateful to our mother for her strength and resilience to see Pop all the way through. He is missed and many happy memories will be everlasting. A private family celebration of life will be held near his birthday later this year, and any personal remembrances may be shared at www.connellfuneral.com

The Connell Funeral Home, Inc., Bethlehem is handling the arrangements.