John Douglas White

John Douglas White died on the morning of November 12th, 2025 at American River Center nursing home. He died due to complications of an intracranial bleed and passed away peacefully with his wife of 60 years, Pam White, at his side.

He had lived at the nursing home for the past 18 months after suffering a devastating stroke which left him with significant deficits requiring 24 hour care. He received wonderful care, and John’s family will be forever indebted to the team of dedicated health care providers who guided him through the last several months.

Before the stroke, John was a brilliant craftsman, building beautiful furniture for family members which he truly enjoyed. He was a contractor prior to retirement for 10 years, but the bulk of his work life was spent selling sourdough french bread to restaurants and stores in the San Francisco Bay Area and later, Sacramento. He loved being outdoors and helping others, whether it was leading Boy Scouts or building homes with Habitat for Humanity. His roots were always tied to the San Francisco Bay, where he spent endless hours as a child and young man navigating those waters by sailboat. He will be remembered there by his sons Nick, Mike, Greg and Jeff(and their wives Jenn, Jen, Julie and Amy) as well as his wife Pam at a later date. He parlayed that love of the sea into four years of distinguished service in the Navy during which he was a quartermaster on a submarine and later an LSD. He is now no doubt spending time with his son Joey, who preceded him in death in 1980. His mother Ada, father Gerald, stepfather Joe, brothers(David, Steve and Alan) and sisters(Virginia and Norma) will be there to guide him in his newest chapter as well.

John was always first and foremost a loving husband, father and friend. He never hesitated to stop what he was doing to help others. And usually what he was doing was helping others, anyway. He has 7 grandchildren(Cody, Hunter, Kate, Kylie, Kayla, Madelyn and Zachary) who all were able to spend considerable time with him, and will carry on his legacy. He was extremely proud of his children and grandchildren, and they buoyed him especially during his low times. John will be remembered best as a man who you could always talk to, a man you could trust and a man who would give you the shirt off his back. He was always looking out for you, especially his wife Pam, whom he held hands with until his last breath. The family again would like to thank the wonderful staff at American River Rehab Center, Hospice, the Neuro-ICU team at Mercy San Juan and all of the friends who reliably gave him joy in his final days.

There will be an informal and casual remembrance gathering at Mt Vernon Memorial Park on Saturday November 14th from 1-4pm.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later time and friends and family will be notified when it is arranged.

The family requests lieu of flowers please donate to the Sacramento Food Bank.