E. JAMES WHITE

WHITE E. JAMES WHITE E. James White, creative director and founder of the advertising agency WHITE64, passed peacefully Monday night March 16, 2020 of natural causes. Jim was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and moved with his family to Hollywood, California but for most of his life, he lived in Northern Virginia with his father Elmo, mother Julia and sister Julie. Growing up in Arlington he went to Westover Elementary, Swanson Middle School and he graduated from Washington Lee High School in 1954. From a very early age, Jim demonstrated a passion for art. In high school, he was known as "the guy who could draw anything and draw it well." He was also a member of the W&L Varsity Fours Championship Crew Team that won the Stotesbury Cup for Boys Senior Quad in 1954. He attended Richmond Polytechnic Institute (now VCU) as an art major. It was there that he got an internship with Creative Arts-a 100-person design studio in Washington, D.C. After completing his internship, he enlisted in the Army and served as an MP. It was then that he met another W&L classmate, Wilma "Billie" Buckmaster and, after a loving courtship, they married on April 12th 1958. They enjoyed the remarkable achievement of sixty-two years of marriage, had three children and eight grandchildren. Jim moved to the Army Reserves and reconnected with Creative Arts. Hired on as a production artist, over the next six years he moved rapidly up the creative ranks and became an Art Director, working on some of the biggest government creative contracts. In the early 60's Jim was interested in creating a new kind of creative shop and in February of 1964, he and two other employees from Creative Arts left the studio to create what became a new hot creative boutique in Georgetown known as Nolan Duffy & White. For the better part of the '60s, ND&W dominated the creative scene in Washington DC. Eventually, Nolan and Duffy moved on and Jim struct out on his own creating the E. James White Company. Jim was a natural entrepreneur, salesman, and creative director. He also had the knack of building businesses, in addition to EJWCo, he created Art Incorporated, NOVA Color Labs and White Lightning Promotions. Each of Jim's children worked in the business and after working with some of the biggest names in DC, i.e. Smithsonian, General Electric, Fairchild Industries, Time-Life Books and Amtrak, in 1992 Jim transitioned to Chairman and remained there until his retirement in 2001. In retirement, Jim and Billie enjoyed winters in Florida and summers in Virginia. To know Jim was a blessing as he had an easy demeanor and a great sense of humor. He was an avid hunter and outdoorsman. He was a golfer and member of Westwood Country Club, Stoneleigh Golf and Country Club and The Key Royale Club. He was a sports fan and a lifelong Washington Redskins sufferer. In recent years he really embraced the Washington Nationals celebrating their World Series win in 2019. Jim was also a big car guy. He used to brag that he bought more than 100 cars for business and family. He loved the negotiation and haggle of the car buying process. He also liked to add his design style to each car he bought; whether it was new wheels, new interior, trim, it was all about the style of the ride. But at his heart, Jim was a yachtsman. He got into sailing at the urging of his friends Dave McLean and Art Birney. They purchased 19' Corsairs, sailed and raced them out of the Washington Sailing Marina. It was the beginning of a love affair with the water that lasted a lifetime. In 1977 Jim joined partners Art Birney and Bill Butler to build Port Annapolis Marina, where he served as a Partner/Board Member and Vice President until his death. The three gentlemen remained lifelong friends and sailing buddies. Over the years Capn' White took the helm of many boats: Trident, Niad, Cricket, Wilma B, Anthem, WhiteCap, and WhiteHawk. In the seventies, he started racing on the Chesapeake Bay and campaigned an Ericson 39 and a Kalik 40 on multiple CBYRA racing circuits, four Annapolis Newport Races and one Annapolis Bermuda Race. While boats have come and gone, the one constant in Jim's life was his love for his wife Billie, their children, and their grandchildren. Jim put his family first. He was a businessman, a leader, husband, father, and adventurer. He is survived by his wife Billie Buckmaster White, his children Matt and Lea Ann White, Laura White and Kenny McDonald, Tyler and Guia White, Margot and Les Palmisano, Maria White and grandchildren Ashley and Dave, Lauren, McKenna, Morgan, Brendan, Shane, Luke, Austin, Joesph, and Julia. Services were private.Services were private.