Warren Allen White was born on a small farm in Graham County, Kansas, on April 1, 1926, and died September 15, 2020, in Manhattan, Kansas, at the age of 94.
Warren was born to Warren Scott White and Anna Hess White. He attended schools at Spring Creek Rural School and Hill City High School and was the first in his family to graduate from high school. He was drafted into service for WWII and left for the Navy immediately after graduating. He spent 1944 to 1946, in the South Pacific and witnessed the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima. He was also at Okinawa. He was very proud of his service.
When he returned home, he used the GI Bill to attend Kansas State University graduating in Civil Engineering. In June 1949, he married Marjorie "Jean" Moore," also of Hill City, and they remained happily married until her death in October 2016. He worked for the Kansas Highway Department (now called Department of Transportation) building roads across Kansas for 35 years. He oversaw the last stretch of I-70 to the Colorado state line which was finished in 1970.
Even though he had the mind of an engineer, his family considered him a modern renaissance man because of his creativity and many fields of interest and expertise. His hobbies included gardening, stained glass, wood working, genealogy, wine making and hunting.
Warren had lived in Norton since 1970, and was active in the Norton United Methodist Church and in the community. He was a Boy Scout leader and a Hunter Safety instructor. He served many organizations including Rotary, the Norton County Hospital, Thomas D. Morgan Trust, and Masonic Lodge. He was well known in several counties as a farming and conservation expert. He and his wife were generous philanthropists including Johnson Cancer Research Center, Norton United Methodist Church and various scholarships.
Warren was preceded in death by his wife Jean, his sister Virginia Quinn and his brother Emanuel White. He is survived by two sisters, Norma Brown, of Walton, Indiana, and Annabel Tate, of Kettering, Ohio; his children Eileen Jesse, and husband, Robert, of Overland Park, Kansas; Warren J. White, and wife, Candace, of Manhattan, Kansas; Beverly Funke, and husband, Mark, of Edmond, Oklahoma; Paul White, and wife, Barbara, of Byers, Colorado; his grandchildren, Tracy Flynn, and husband, Tom; William Funke, and wife, Lauren; Anne Funke; Daniel White, and wife, Susann; Elise Bennett, and husband, JJ; and Melanie Wolf, and husband, Ryan; and great grandchildren, Brianna Walker; Hailey, Caylin and Alena Rageth, Finley and Ethan White; Tripp and Jillian Bennett; Avery and Teddy Funke; and Eloise Wolf.
Due to Covid-19 concerns, services and burial will be private. A Celebration of Life will be held in the spring. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Johnson Cancer Research Center at the KSU Foundation, 1800 Kimball Avenue, Manhattan, KS. 66502, directed to Fund NO. F94693, The White Cancer Research Fund, or to the Norton United Methodist Church, 805 W. Wilberforce St., Norton, KS. 67654