Dr. Perry Merrill White III

Dr. Perry Merrill White, III of Knoxville passed away on May 8, 2024.
Merrill was born to Dr. & Mrs. Perry Merrill White Jr. on March 20, 1952 in Houston, TX. Merrill went on to study at Furman University on an Army ROTC scholarship where he met and married the love of his life, Janet Collier White. Following graduation from Furman, he studied medicine at the Medical College of Georgia, completed a residency in orthopaedic surgery at Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University and a spine fellowship at the Rothman Institute in Philadelphia.
In the midst of Merrill's medical training and active military duty, he and Janet had three children – Robert, Bryan and Helen. The Whites eventually settled in Knoxville, TN and have resided there for the past 30 years. During that tenure, Merrill served in many leadership roles within Tennessee Orthopaedic Alliance (TOA) and the broader orthopeadic community, while honing his surgical practice. After retiring from surgery, he took on the role of Medical Director for TOA and dedicated six years to supporting the practice.
Janet and Merrill enjoyed much time spent travelling, hiking, and in the company of their friends and family. In recent years, Merrill became heavily involved in the mission work of Sequoyah Hills Presbyterian Church. His passion for mission included clean water initiatives through Living Waters for the World and medical missions to Guatemala with Porch de Solomon. His quiet leadership, indelible work ethic and intellect were used to better the lives of so many in our community and abroad.
Merrill will be remembered as a distinguished spine surgeon, a devoted husband of 52 years, a remarkable father and father-in-law and simply as Bear to his grandchildren.
We would like to say a special thank you to the nurses, surgeons, physicians assistants, physical therapists, occupational therapists and staff of the Parkwest Critical Care Unit who became family over the past month. The care and love they provided Merrill and his family will remain with us always.
Merrill was preceded in death by his parents Katherine Freeman White and Perry Merrill White, Jr.. He is survived by his loving wife Janet White and their children Robert (Parker), Bryan (Erin), and Helen (Thomas); his siblings Lynnette White, Kathy Long (Hank), and David White (Sharon); and his beloved grandchildren Avery, Perrin, Coco, Georgia and Gwynnie.
Services will be held at Sequoyah Hills Presbyterian Church on Friday, May 17th at 4:00pm with visitation to follow. In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to one of the organizations that meant so much to Merrill:
BackPack Beginnings – This non-profit was started by Merrill's daughter-in-law Parker and provides food, clothing and other resources to over 20,000 children in the Greensboro, NC area. Merrill was incredibly proud of Parker's work with BackPack Beginnings. To donate please visit www.backpackbeginnings.org
Sequoyah Hills Presbyterian Church Guatemala Medical Missions – Merrill travelled three times to Guatemala on medical mission trips in partnership with Porch de Salomon. He was also instrumental in working with the church to provide an AED for the people of Panajachel, Guatemala. To donate please visit Sequoya Hills Presbyterian Church International Medical Mission https://app.securegive.com/sequoyahchurch/main/donate/category or mail a check to: SHPC, 3700 Keowee Ave., Knoxville, TN 37919