JERRY LEE WHITE

10/25/1936 –9/10/2018

Jerry White, 82, beloved Cascade Middle School teacher from 1961 to 1998, who was known for his innovative style and upbeat personality, died of Alzheimer’s on September 10, 2018.

He took a short break from CMS to join the Peace Corps to teach in Iringa, Tanzania from 1963 to 1965.

Born in Seneca, Nebraska to Ray and Grace Thompson White, the family soon moved to Tacoma, where he followed his sister Jane (Beck) through Lincoln High School. Graduating in 1954, he immediately joined the Marines with several buddies. He returned to his hometown where he graduated from University of Puget Sound. That same year, 1961, he married fellow UPS grad, Diane Crippen. Both were lifelong teachers. In 2012 they went their separate ways after 50 years of marriage .

He is survived by his two children, daughter Krista (Eric) Swain of Enumclaw and son Lincoln (Andrea) of Milton, grandchildren Ivy Lewis (Brewer, Maine), Aiden and Annabelle Swain and as well as his sister Jane Beck (Bakersfield, California).

Jerry’s summers were spent gillnet fishing in Puget Sound and Alaska. He loved the water and enjoyed hosting annual golf tournament parties from the family cabin on Case Inlet. Singing was a lifelong love, and he was a devoted member of the Tacoma Totemaires.

On Thursday, September 27, at 1 pm, friends are gathering at the Cloverleaf in Tacoma following the service at 11 am at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent.