Lou was the son of Robert William White and Bertha Ficks. He was named after his father's uncles Louis and Howard. He was originally named William Howard White, but a year later his mother had him baptized as Louis Howard and legally changed his name (perhaps because Uncle Louis had died the previous year). Oddly, the origin of the name William has not yet been discovered in this family. His father died when he was four years old, so he was sent to Girard College for Boys in Philadelphia, along with his older brother Tom. He was rarely allowed to visit home prior to high school age. But one of his neighborhood friends was Arno Laux, whose father Arno was especially kind to Lou. The boys of Girard were as close as family. Some of his best buddies in school and for the rest of his life were Ted, Chuck, Albie, Carmen, Mike, Johnny, and 'Box'. Although they never placed bets, Lou, Mike, and Johnny avidly followed the thoroughbred racing form during their senior year. Lou was a lieutenant in the school battalion. He was a member of the track team and participated in pole vaulting. Academic students were required to also study a skilled trade, so Lou chose machine shop. His childhood summers were spent at camp in the Poconos and years later he returned many times with his children to that area near Bushkill Falls. He always remembered and often spoke of his favorite teachers Doc Haskell, 'Cowboy Connor', and houseparents Emil and Phyllis Zarella. Mr. Connor instilled an interest in travel, camping, history, and native Americans. Doc Haskell was a mentor to him. Lou graduated early because he wanted to join the navy with some friends. They had to wait until Ted turned 18 because his mother wouldn't sign him in underage. After graduation his first job was working as a machinist at Sharpe & Dome with Ted. They returned there after the war and had to recalibrate a large military packaging machine to wrap small Sucrets boxes. He enlisted in June of 1943 and was sent to the Sampson Naval Training Center in New York. He always remembered one of the fellows he met there, Bennie Moore, Jr., the son of vaudeville comic Bennie Moore. The suave 17 year old made quite an impression, although they eventually lost touch with each other. It took him three months to meet up with the destroyer he was assigned with. He stripped paint from barges after being left in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. On his first voyage out of the Caribbean in January 1944, he was working in the mess hall on the seaplane tender USS Albemarle. Then in February he briefly served as signalman on the destroyer escort USS Underhill and the coast guard gunship USS Alacrity. He served as a signalman on the USS Moffett for the duration of World War II until after his ship was decommissioned. His convoy escorted merchant ships back and forth across the Atlantic. Once he was asked to help a French tug out of Oran, Algeria because they had no signalman aboard. He had many adventures from Boston to Bizerte to Tangier. His quartermaster friend Mike was usually with him and they reconnected decades later to reminisce. Just weeks before D-Day, they secretly parked barges near the Arctic Circle which contained the equipment (similar to Mulberry Harbors and Phoenixes) that would be used for the beach landings in Normandy. This maneuver was officially recorded as follows~ "On 26 March 1944, Moffett sailed as escort commander of Convoy YN-78, a group of tugs, barges, and patrol craft en route to England for the invasion of Normandy." According to Lou, the barges were actually left in the North Sea. Everyone aboard speculated that a huge invasion was being prepared.

Shortly after the war Lou enrolled in classes at Martin College in Philadelphia under the G.I. Bill. He and Ted realized a childhood dream and purchased a sailboat which they docked at a yacht club until it drifted down river after a storm and was destroyed. Later he transferred to Juniata College in western Pennsylvania where he hoped his studies in history and languages would propel him into a career with the United States Foreign Service. He met Louise Ann Wengert and changed his ambition. Lou often sang to her and she must have enjoyed it because they married on June 24 1951 at Trinity Evangelical United Brethren Church in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. One of his first positions after earning a bachelor's degree was loan officer at a finance company. He also obtained a District of Columbia Real Estate Broker's License. He later attended law school at night while living in Towson, Maryland and working full-time. He was active in Sigma Delta Kappa Law Fraternity and initiated into the Freemasons. Lou golfed and enjoyed camping, especially at Cape Cod National Seashore where he and his wife honeymooned. After graduating with a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law, he pursued his childhood interest in native Americans by obtaining a position with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He was transferred to Oklahoma for several years and then Washington DC where he retired in 1985. While residing in El Reno and working as the economic development officer at the old Concho Agency and School, he spent weekends and vacations exploring the Old West with his children. Many excursions were to Indian pow-wows, ghost towns, pueblo villages, and rock hounding digs. One of his professional assignments involved him in the Wounded Knee Incident in 1973 at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Lou was an expert in the field of Indian land law. He drafted legislation and interpreted laws and treaties. People often asked if he was an Indian himself, presumably because of his ruddy complexion and dark hair. But he had light blue eyes! One of his best friends at the BIA was Joseph Pieper, who lost both of his parents as a child. Another good friend was the son of Curtis Nordwall. Their hobby was scouting flea markets for vintage gaming machines and slot machines which they would repair and sell. Lou also refinished antique furniture and sold items in his friend Ted's Trading Post in Georgetown. For the past 16 years he has been a resident of Pylesville, Maryland in order to live near his daughters and grandchildren. Throughout his retirement Lou enjoyed traveling with his family and collecting antique toys. He was a self-taught piano player and he also played the harmonica since he was a young boy. He held a lifelong interest in genealogy and his childhood memories helped his oldest daughter and nephew Tom uncover his Irish, German, and colonial New York ancestors. In his later years he was especially fond of singing and reminiscing about his childhood and his time in the navy. He attended his 70th high school reunion at Girard College in May of 2013. The family vacationed at Lake Keuka, New York in June of 2015 and celebrated Lou and Louise's 65th wedding anniversary (which was actually the following year). Lou was still able to sing the French national anthem (which he learned as a school boy) until a few days before he passed away at Madonna Heritage Assisted Living Home (one week before his actual wedding anniversary). Perhaps somehow we had known in advance. He was the father of one son and two daughters who all graduated from law school. He was the grandfather of four grandsons and two granddaughters. He has four great-grandsons and one great-granddaughter so far. Lou's son and two of his grandsons are also in the United States Navy. He had 16 biological siblings and half-siblings. They, and all of their spouses predeased Lou.

His high school yearbook described him as follows~ "Handsome, modest, and athletic is how Lou impressed us. He surely loved a hot argument, too. If life meets Lou just halfway, he'll reach the top somehow."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Celebration Of Life was held at noon on Wednesday, June 22 at the Highland Presbyterian Church in Street, Maryland. Afterwards, his friends and relatives enjoyed singing his favorite songs and sharing memories during a luncheon at Twin Silos Restaurant at Geneva Farms Golf Club.

A Service of Christian Burial was held at 1:00pm on Thursday, December 15 at the Old Post Chapel at Fort Myer (now officially called Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall after merging with the adjacent marine base). The inurnment ceremony with military honors and a seven gun salute was immediately following the chapel service.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you know anyone with Alzheimers and need questions answered, go to www.alz.org or call the 24/7 Helpline~ 1-800-272-3900. It is a worthy and well rated non-profit to contribute to and support.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lou's ancestry~

Lou was the son of an immigrant. She arrived in Philadelphia with her mother after spending Christmas 1899 in a Liverpool workhouse where her baby sister died. Her ancestors were from Germany and Russia-Poland (parts of which are now Ukraine). Lou's father was believed to be mostly Irish, but research shows he also descends from the colonial Waldron family of New Amsterdam. One of Lou's oldest direct ancestors on Findagrave is his 8th great-grandfather, Resolved Waldron. Resolved served as attorney general and several other positions in the colonial government of New York, at the pleasure of his mentor and friend Peter Stuyvesant. Some researchers believe they have traced this ancestral family back to Edward Walderne (died 1590) in Alcester, Warwickshire, and even Waldrons in Worcestorshire hundreds of years earlier. Not only did Granny Devlin turn out to be English and Dutch, there are some French ancestors! Also discovered the maternal line goes even further, including Lou's 9th great-grandfather, the noted Joris Jansen Rapelje (1604-1663) and his interesting wife Catalyntje Jeronimus Trico (whose weaver father invented the tricot weave).

In addition, Lou's ancestry through the White family goes back to the same White family that traveled aboard the Mayflower in 1620. The matched relationship was most likely up to a century before the Pilgrims William White and Susanna Winslow departed for Massachusetts, according to the now defunct Sorenson DNA Database. However, it could possibly be determined that Lou was actually a Mayflower descendant (Lou's DNA was compared with a proven Mayflower descendant and their common ancestor was estimated to be 20 generations or less).

His part Irish grandmother Mary Ann Devlin was the granddaughter of an Irish immigrant who died during the Civil War, James Devlin (Lou's great-great grandfather). Lou's great grandfather on the White side, Robert, was one of a small group of men who served in the United States Marine Corps in the Civil War. His parents have not yet been found.

*

*******************************

FYI for family

~Enlisted at age 17 and a half on June 15 1943 in Philadelphia. Arrived at Sampson Naval Training Center in New York on June 16 1943. Six week boot camp ended about July 30-August 6. Usually granted 10 day leave before resuming new training. SEEKING company photo from Sampson boot camp. Half of boot camp (basic training) photos are at museum. Call curator Delores Dinsmore 315-585-6203 (called once in Jan 2017 and she said we need the company #).

~Then enrolled in signalman school on August 19 1943. Went to hospital for 2 weeks (Sept 21-Oct 10) and still graduated with original class Group II, subgroup IIb on December 13 1943 but Certificate says Class A, Group II (C). Some signalman class photos are at the museum if anyone visits again.

~Discharged from active duty on December 7 1945 in Bainbridge, Maryland (Bainbridge Naval Museum is now open in Port Deposit, MD). Enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve on January 22 1947 in Philadelphia and discharged from service on January 19 1952.

~Lou received 3 campaign medals, including the Victory Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and the American Area Campaign Medal(?). These entitle any of his children or grandchildren to join the American Legion Auxiliary or VFW Auxiliary.

NOTE-There was another Louis H. White, but he was in the marines during WW2. There was even another Louis White who was a signalman in the navy during WW2. Be careful looking at military records online. Lou served on several ships, but you need to compare his service number and enlistment date.