William Webster White

WILLIAM WEBSTER WHITE William Webster "Bill" White, 66, of Placida, Florida, passed away on Wednesday, August 16, 2017, with his beloved wife of 46 years, Diane, at his side. Bill was born on September 3, 1950 in Nashua, New Hampshire to Webster W. White and Shirley Osgood White. He spent his childhood and adolescent years growing up in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York State with his sisters, Wendy, Nan and Sue, and his brother Jim. Bill's happiest memories of those years were of the times he spent hiking and camping in the woods around his home in Easthampton, MA and at his grandparents place on Pawtuckaway Lake, Nottingham, NH. On Pawtuckaway lake he helped his grandfather with the family cottage rental business, renting boats on the lake, maintaining the lake road and helping in his grandfather's large vegetable garden. Bill loved nature and wildlife from his earliest years, collecting snakes and even hunting & cooking squirrels on a campfire while he solo camped in the woods. This love of nature and the outdoors stayed with Bill his whole life, and evolved into deep respect for the conservation of the planet and its endangered wildlife. Bill graduated from Middletown High School in Middletown, NY in 1968, where he excelled in track and cross-country. From this high school experience, long distance running became one of Bill's lifelong passions, and he considered his completion of the Boston marathon in the 1980s to be a highlight of his life. It was also during his senior year at Middletown High School that Bill met his lifelong partner and soulmate, Diane Van Duzer. After graduating high school, Bill attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, where he was a member of the track & field team, and majored in Philosophy. However, after several years of attending classes and unsure of his path, Bill left Rutgers. This was the tumultuous Viet Nam era and the military draft was still very much in effect; Bill had a low draft number which meant he was likely to be drafted now that he no longer had his college deferment, so in 1971, Bill enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Bill and Diane married in July 1971 after Bill completed his boot camp training, and spent the first years of their married life in Newport, RI, an idyllic period where Bill served as a Radioman at the Newport Naval Base and Diane completed her Bachelor's Degree at the University of Rhode Island. It was during this period in Newport that Bill and Diane discovered a love of sailing, and took sailing classes offered through the Navy. Bill discovered an immediate and intuitive skill of this sport which developed into another one of his lifelong passions. After his 4 years of service, Bill returned to college at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH, earning his Bachelor's Degree in 1977. It was at UNH that Bill discovered an aptitude and interest in computer programming while working in the University Bookstore and in the Financial Aid Office. This led to a position at Data General Corporation, one of the big mini-computer companies of that era. The New Hampshire years were gloriously happy ones for Bill and Diane. They spent many years living in a quirky contemporary homes in the woods and on Great Bay, heating with wood (Bill loved splitting wood!) and gardening, hiking, birding, mountain climbing and cross country skiing. And sailing! Bill studied wooden boat building during this period, and enjoyed restoring wooden sailboats. He kept his sailboat, the Williwaw, anchored at Kittery Point, Maine, and often sailed out to the Isles of Shoals. He also had the joy of joining dear lifelong NH friends on Caribbean bareboat sailing charters in the British Virgin Islands and the Grenadines during this period. The maritime logs Bill kept during these sailing adventures are a treasure. In the late 80s, ready for new career challenges and adventure, Bill and Diane bought a used Scotty trailer and headed West, spending 8 weeks visiting most of the great National Parks, before settling down in the San Francisco Bay Area where Bill quickly found work in the database and software development field, and Diane completed her Master's Degree at UC Berkeley. During this period until his retirement in December 2013, Bill had a successful career in the software engineering field, including stints at Ingres Corporation and at Perforce Software in Alameda, CA. The California years were as glorious as the New Hampshire years. Bill and Diane camped and hiked all over that magnificent State, and particularly enjoyed studying the botany of the area's Mediterranean climate. Sailing on San Francisco Bay became Bill's new passion and he owned 2 different sailboats during this period: A Cheoy Lee Frisco Flyer and an Islander 28. He was particularly proud to be a member of the Single-handed Sailing Society, and loved partcipating in the annual 3 Bridge Fiasco and the single-handed sailing race to the Farallones. He also continued bareboat sailing adventures abroad including bareboat charters in Tahiti and the Greek Ionian Islands. One of Bill and Diane's happiest experiences during these years was living in a floating house on the Oakland Estuary, a branch of San Francisco Bay, in Alameda, CA. In addition to making more wonderful lifelong friends at the marina, Bill and Diane created a newsletter for the residents, and also a web site, alamedafloatinghomes.org, which was still live as of this writing. Bill and Diane also created and maintained a stray & feral cat rescue shelter while at Barnhill Marina, which became quite famous (or infamous!) along the shoreline walkway. Some of those rescue cats followed Bill and Diane to Florida when Bill retired in December 2013. Bill retired from Perforce Software in the Fall of 2013. He and Diane moved to Placida, FL to be near the warm beaches and warm weather, and closer to family in Englewood and Tampa. And so another wonderful phase of life began. Bill's brief years of retirement were happy ones. He took up motorcycling and loved riding his Trumph Bonneville. He also loved kayaking and spent many hours exploring the inlets and mangroves in this beautiful area. But Bill especially loved sea turtles! Bill and Diane joined the Coastal Wildlife Club of Englewood and became devoted protectors of endangered sea turtles. For several years, Bill enjoyed patrolling the beach at dawn during the summer, locating and marking the nests of endangered Loggerheads and Green sea turtles on the beaches of Manasota Key. He also enjoyed creating databases for managing various aspects of sea turtle patrol. After Bill became ill in 2016, he dearly missed the sea turtle patrol. Anyone who knew Bill remembers him as a gentleman and a "gentle man", as one friend put it so well. He had a brilliant intelligence and a droll and ready dry wit that endeared him to all who knew him. Bill was always kind and humble and had a deep love, respect and sensitivity toward all life. He was also fearless and loved adventure and new experiences. He will be missed beyond measure. The Earth, especially, is missing a passionate advocate and a very special soul. Bill is survived by his devoted and loving wife of 46 years, Diane Van Duzer White, and adored cats: Ziggy, Dolly and Ebony. He is also survived by his cherished sisters, Wendy McClaflin (Jim), Nan Vigars (John) and Susan White. Bill was so proud of his nieces and nephews: Raven Grady (Sam), Bradley Louis Vigars, Matthew Vigars, Kelly Price, Rebecca Echevarria (Alex), Julie Brown, James T. McClaflin, and great-nieces Ashley Clark (Ryan), Leah Grace Brown and Laura Brown. Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Webster and Shirley White, and by his brother James White. The family wishes to thank Tidewell Hospice House for the loving care provided to Bill during his last days. Donations may be made in Bill's name to the following non-profits, all of which he cared deeply about and supported: Coastal Wildlife Club (CWC, Inc.), P.O. Box 2022, Englewood, FL 34295; the Wildlife Center of Venice, 3252 Border Road, Venice, FL 34292; the Peace River Wildlife Center, 3400 Ponce de Leon Parkway, Punta Gorda, FL 33950; and EARS (Englewood Animal Rescue Sanctuary), 145 W. Dearborn Street, Englewood, FL 34223.