Wilton Gregory White

Wilton Gregory White, age 79, passed away peacefully at his home in Dallas surrounded by his family and many caregivers. He was born in Corpus Christi on September 22, 1936, to Lucille and Grover White. Wilton was raised in Orange and graduated from Stark High School in 1955 then attended Southwestern University in Georgetown, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He was also a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutger’s University in New Jersey. Wilton met Barbara Douglass in Austin on a blind date during football season and they married on December 21, 1957. They spent a few years in Orange and Amarillo, and the last four years near their daughter in Dallas, but Beaumont was always home. Wilton’s banking career spanned more than 50 years beginning at Orange National Bank and retiring, the first time from Wachovia Bank in Beaumont in 2006, then again from Third Coast Bank in 2012. Wilton was very active in the Beaumont community, serving in numerous leadership positions including President of the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce, President of the Foundation for Southeast Texas, President of the Beaumont Rotary Club, President of the Neches River Festival and serving on the boards at Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital, Big Brothers of America, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Lamar University’s Friends of the Arts and the United Way. He was also actively involved at St. Marks Episcopal Church and crowned King of the Neches River Festival in 1987. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Barbara, his daughter, Kristi White Nelson of Dallas, and her husband, Scott and grandchildren Megan Gittins and Blake Gittins. He is preceeded in death by his parents and son, Doug White. A Memorial Service will be held at Sparkman Hillcrest on Thursday, February 25, 2016 at 10am. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org or a charity of your choice.