CLARKSBURG -- Thomas A. White of Country Club Road, Clarksburg, died Saturday morning, March 31, 2001, in United Hospital Center.
He was born Oct. 21, 1921, in Clarksburg, a son of the late Percy H. White and Ruth E. Smith White.
His wife, Mary Lou Thorn White, whom he married Aug. 23, 1947, preceded him in death on July 28, 1992.
Surviving are four children, Spencer King White II, Harrisonburg, Va., Martha McClure White, Ellen White Pollack, both of Clarksburg, and Thomas Arthur White Jr., Columbus, Ohio; three grandchildren, Kathryn Tanner White, Samuel Thomas White and Elizabeth Ann White; and nieces and nephews.
He was also preceded in death by two sisters, Beverly White Riley and Sallie White Sole.
Mr. White was retired president and chief operating officer of Consolidated Natural Gas Co.
He attended Harrison County Schools and graduated from Washington Irving High School. He then attended West Virginia University, where he received a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1943. Following his graduation he joined the U.S. Army Infantry and served as an officer in the Italian Campaign, where he received the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart. Following combat hostilities, he was assigned to the staff of the Reparations and Restitutions Commission of the Allied Forces in Austria and was stationed in Vienna until being discharged.
In 1946, after his military tenure, he returned to WVU and earned a law degree from the College of Law. He also held a teaching fellowship in the School of Business Administration and served on the Student Board of Editors of the West Virginia Law Quarterly.
After graduating, he entered the private practice of law in Clarksburg and was an assistant prosecuting attorney for Harrison County from 1949-1951. In 1958 he joined the legal department of Hope Natural Gas Co., an affiliate of the Consolidated Natural Gas System.
Prior to his becoming president of CNG, he held various positions with the company and held positions in subsidiary companies, including those of president and director of Consolidated System LNG Co., CNG Coal Co. and CNG Research Co. Following his retirement he remained a consultant to CNG.
Mr. White served on the Boards of Directors of CNG, the Institute of Gas Technology, Interstate Natural Gas Association, West Virginia Oil & Natural Gas Chamber of Commerce, Council Member and President of WVU Alumni Association and the board of directors of Harrison County United Way and United Health Foundation. In addition to those named, Mr. White held offices and was an active participant in numerous, industry, educational, civic, cultural and charitable organizations. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, Clarksburg.
Friends will be received at the Davis-Weaver Funeral Home, 329 East Main St., from 4-7 p.m. Monday. The funeral service will be conducted at the First Presbyterian Church, Second and Main streets, at 11 a.m. Tuesday with the Rev. Dr. Eric M. Faust presiding. A private family interment service will be held in Bridgeport Cemetery.
Anyone desiring to make a charitable contribution in Mr. White's memory may consider the North American Bluebird Society (NABS), P.O. Box 74, Darlington, WI 53530-0074.
