Terry Harris White passed away at the Villages of Jackson Creek Memory Care in Independence, Missouri on Sunday, April 24, 2016. A memorial service will be held at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 4000 S. Lee’s Summit Rd., Independence, MO on Monday, May 2 at 2:00 pm.  In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial donations to support the work of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church or Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care, 1500 Meadow Lake Parkway, Suite 200, Kansas City, MO 64114.

   Terry was born on June 17, 1936 in Brookfield, MO to Stanley and Mildred (Brown) White.  He was the second of four boys (Ronald, Terry, Fairel and Fredrick White). Freddy passed away in 1996.  When Terry was 11 years old the family moved to Scranton, PA where his father had a job in a shoe factory.  Stanley died suddenly of a heart attack a few years later, and Terry spent the rest of his adolescence living with various family members. This experience left a lasting mark on him.

   In 1954 Terry joined the Air Force. He trained in electronics and cryptography – skills he used during a year stationed in Thule, Greenland. It was while stationed at Richards-Gebauer Air Force Base that he met his future wife, Barbara Lou Foland. They were married on October 4, 1957 and had three children: Sherri (1959), Steven (1961) and Sondra (1962).

   Terry worked for Western Electric for over 30 years. In the early 1970s he spent a year in the Marshall Islands testing electronics for the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile system. He was also a member of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Posse, had his own security business for a time, and a commercial lawn care service.

   When Barbara suffered a major stroke in 2006 Terry stayed by her side and took care of her in their home for the next four years – even as he faced serious health issues of his own. To everyone’s surprise this period was one of the most enjoyable of their lives.

   Terry’s interests over the years included cars, boats, scuba diving, motorcycles, cameras, horses, hunting, ATV’s, computers, and genealogy. By far his biggest interest was guns both for hunting and collecting. He was a man who loved his stuff and one of something was never enough!

   Terry shared his interests with his friends and family on many adventures. Two of the family’s happiest times were vacations out west that included camping in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, seeing Old Faithful, visiting the Royal Gorge, exploring an abandoned silver mine in the Colorado Rockies, and rafting down the Snake River in Idaho. 

   He organized many hunting trips to wilderness areas out west for his hunting buddies. They would pull trailers with their horses or ATV’s, tents and supplies, and would go out for weeks at a time. Terry was an avid hunter and always used the game he took as food for his family or others. His dream was to operate an outback hunting guide business in Alaska. He loved old time country western and blue grass music, particularly Bill Monroe.

   Terry had a natural rapport with animals, especially dogs, often seeming to enjoy their company more than that of other people. He particularly loved his Brittany spaniels, Lucy I and Lucy II.

   Terry was strong-willed and single minded. When diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2014 he opted for a second open-heart surgery. Shortly thereafter, he suffered the first of two strokes which left him with significant memory loss. The last occurred just a few days before his death.

   He is survived by his children and their spouses; Sherri Shokler (Jeffrey) of Madison, WI, Steven White (Gerri) of Nashville, TN and Sondra Linke (Chris) of Alexandria, VA. His brothers Ronnie White of Hannibal, MO and Fairel (Bobbye) White of Nixa, MO, and numerous nieces and nephews.

   The family would in particular like to thank his nephew Mark White of Chillicothe and niece Dianna Foland Sears of Independence for their help and support during his illness. The family also wishes to give a special thank you to Mother Pat Miller and the congregation of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church for the love, caring, and support both she and her congregation provided to Terry and the family over the past decade.

Arrangements:  Royer Funeral Home, Oak Grove, MO   816-690-4441