MARFA – A memorial celebration of the life of James Elmer White Jr. will
be at 9am Monday, July 22 at the First Christian Church in Marfa. He
was 92.
Saturday, July 6, 2013 was his last day missing Jane, his wife of 64 years who died April 3, 2010.
Their
children are Hester Ann White of Marfa, James E. White III and Karen
Bailey White of Marfa, Beauregard Brite White and Kathleen Hartnett
White of Rosanky, Edward McMinn White and Julie Bryan White of Marfa.
Grandchildren are James Morgan Tyler and Candice Rush Tyler, Robert
Brite Tyler, Beauregard McMinn Tyler, Marti Shea White Wright and Curtis
Wright, Clint White, Raphael White Holland and Stacy Holland, James E.
White IV and Holly Moore White. Great grandchildren are Shea Wright,
Seth Wright and Harper Holland.
Jim White Jr. was born October 9,
1920 in Del Rio, Texas, the second child of James E. White and Martha
Hamilton. His sister Virginia Mae “Gene†White Frank Boland lives in Del
Rio with her husband Bob Boland. His brothers Hamilton, Russell, and
Tucker finished their races before Jim.
Jim set out from Del Rio
High School to enroll at Texas A&M, but was detained in Austin,
where he attended the University of Texas and was a member of Chi Phi
fraternity. A&M was an all male institution at the time and young
Jim liked pretty girls. In 1941, he, his father and brothers bought
ranches in southern Presidio County. At a watermelon party in Marfa, he
met Jane Brite Dunkle, a student at the University of Texas. They
married in Marfa on September 5, 1946.
Jim White was a cattleman,
saying the secrets to success were “Hereford cattle and gramma grass,
along with a good family, lots of hard work, determination and
optimism.†He was an active member of the Highland Hereford Breeders
Association, The National Cattlemen, Texas and Southwestern Cattle
Raisers Association, and the Texas Hereford Association. Jim and Jane
raised both registered and commercial Herefords on their Presidio and
Jeff Davis County ranches. In addition, Jim managed the Brite Ranch.
Jim
was an outdoorsman and hunter, an astute observer of wildlife and the
land. He gave time, energy and insight to the Davis Mountains
Trans-Pecos Heritage Association and to the Texas Wildlife Association.
Jim
was a faithful believer and supporter of the Christian Church. His
intellectual interests were broad and deep, with special regard of
history. He was thankful for his country, his family, and his trust in
“Jesus in Christ, the Son of the Living God.â€
