Theodore White

10/27/1940 — 10/3/2026

Send a Condolence

Oct. 27, 1940 – Oct. 3, 2026

A gentle giant, a mountain man and the guy who could fix just about anything.

——

Ted K. White, 85, was born Oct. 27, 1940, at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Lewiston, and passed away peacefully at home Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, just 24 days shy of his 86th birthday.

A gentle giant with an imposing presence and a quiet nature, Ted was a man of few words. When he spoke, people listened. His hearing kept him out of the military draft, although his wife of 55 years, Marilyn, maintained that his hearing was often remarkably selective.

An outdoorsman through and through, Ted grew up hunting on horseback with his father and spent a lifetime exploring the mountains. Friends relied on his knowledge of nearly every trail and his seemingly endless collection of hunting stories. He was also a boat captain who couldn’t swim, despite having enjoyed scuba diving in his younger years. Ted apparently considered these minor technicalities.

Ted began working at Potlatch at 17, possibly having rounded his age up a bit to get hired, and eventually became a foreman. He retired at 55, but Marilyn wasn’t quite ready to have him home full-time. He returned to work for Doug Hermann at Blue Mountain Agriculture, where he put his remarkable mechanical skills to use for several more years. Doug became a treasured friend and Ted’s favorite boss.

Ted could fix just about anything and was the person friends and family called when something broke. At home, he was the fair but final judge of family shenanigans, most often involving his son, Ryan. His daughter, Wendy, was always Daddy’s girl and spent countless childhood hours as his faithful wrench-hander and shop assistant.

Ted and Marilyn shared 55 years of marriage, with Marilyn generally doing the talking and Ted providing the occasional, but definitive, response. One of his favorite stories involved Marilyn cheering for Clarkston while sitting on the Lewiston side of a rivalry football game. When half the bleachers stood up in protest, Ted simply stood up himself—and everyone sat back down.

For more than 50 years, Ted and Marilyn lived in the same neighborhood, where neighbors became lifelong friends and extended family. Among them were Dan and Suzy Luper, with Dan becoming like a second son to Ted.

Despite his rugged exterior, Ted loved animals, especially Lucky, the little long-haired Chihuahua he and Marilyn rescued from an Arizona highway. Even as dementia stole many of his memories, Ted never stopped keeping track of his beloved little dog.

Ted was preceded in death by his parents, Wallace W. White and Mavis E. White (née Grunerud). He is survived by his wife, Marilyn M. White (née Cummings); son Ryan E. White and daughter-in-law Jennifer Petrie White; daughter Wendy J. Weber (née White); and grandchildren Clara, Christian, Caleb and Rowan.

No services are planned at this time.

The mountains may have lost their guide, but the trails he blazed and the stories he left behind will never be forgotten.

Print Obituary Send a Condolence Back to Listings