William Roland White Jr.

William Roland White, Jr, loving husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather, devoted Catholic, died on Friday, the 21st of August, 2020. He was 80 years old. He was a native Houstonian, born on the 11th of September, 1939, to William Roland White, Sr and Helen Seaman White. He attended St. Thomas High School and The University of Houston. He married his loving wife, Patricia Spalding, in 1959, at the young age of 19. While at U of H, he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and was active in the Republican Party of Harris County. He continued his interest in politics throughout his life - one of his personal favorite moments was visiting the White House and meeting President Ronald Reagan, the president he most admired in his life. Roland began his career in sales and marketing with the Gallo Winery where he was the Area Sales Manager for Southern California when Boone’s Farm wines were exploding across the country. During his tenure, wine sales tripled in Southern California and Gallo became the largest selling wine in the United States. He then moved across the country and became the National Sales Manager for the Gillette Company. He then made his first foray into entrepreneurship, and developed a successful startup business manufacturing a product he invented called “The Washing Machine” which fits in the corner of a shower and dispensed liquid soap, shampoo, and conditioner. “The Washing Machine” became the number one selling bathroom product in southern California. In 1975, he was one of the primary principles (along with his brother, Justin White) to be awarded one of the first Coors distributorships in the Houston area as the beer company was expanding east of its Colorado roots. In the 1970s, Roland started his consulting business, Cambridge Consulting Group, and for the next 35 years, he offered strategic planning and consulting advice to numerous companies across many industries including Energy and Advanced Technology. He specialized in developing internal and external growth options, analyzing acquisition candidates, and optimizing product and service line strategies. He ultimately transformed his business to Cambridge Education Partners, breaking into the creation of educational training software for school districts and businesses across the country. His passion was always business, and he was always on the lookout for the next entrepreneurial opportunity. He was an avid reader on many topics, but especially books on history and business, and could engage almost anyone on those topics with great enthusiasm. He was also a caring father that loved and wanted the best for all of his children. He also took great pride in the successes of his children, like many fathers, often cornering an unsuspecting friend or associate with yet another story of their accomplishments. As grandchildren entered the picture, he found a new passion. He was greatly supportive of any activity they were involved in, doing his best to attend every extracurricular or sporting event, and found great pleasure in simply hearing what was happening in their lives. As more time passed, he relished the large family gatherings around the holidays at his home. Who could forget the late night charade games or white elephant gift exchanges, where all would laugh so hard they would often cry. Memories of his legacy will live on for generations. He is preceded in death by his parents, William Roland White, Sr and Helen Seaman White. He is survived by his faithful wife of 61 years, Patricia Spalding White; their children (and spouses), Bill (Karen), Roger (Leslie), Jenny (Mike), John, and Jane (Joel); and 16 grandchildren, Joe (Kylie), Jay (Victoria), Nicholas, Nathan, Kevin (Courtney), Michael, Kelli, Lauren (Drew), Ashley, Courtney, Jordan (Dylan), Madison, Savannah, and Cole; and 3 great grandchildren, Dax, Teddy, and Leilani. He is also survived by his brother, Justin C. White (Gina); and by his nephews, Justin, Robby (Krista), Chad (Sherry), and Ryan (Ja’Net). Roland will be remembered for his passion in everything he pursued. He approached the world with great curiosity and confidence and will always be remembered as an eternal dreamer and optimist. He will be greatly missed, but we are comforted knowing that he is now in a better place. Funeral services will now be held at 11:30am on Tuesday, the 1st of September, at St. Cyril of Alexandria Catholic Church, 10503 Westheimer Rd in Houston. Suits and ties are not required, as Roland has been a business casual proponent for many years. In the current COVID environment, funeral services will be family only, but please join us by watching the live stream of the service on the church website by going to www.facebook.com/stcyrilhouston/posts/. At a private gravesite ceremony, Roland will be placed to rest next to his mother and father at Forest Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation to St. Cyril of Alexandria Catholic Church (where Roland dedicated a lot of his time) or a charity of your choice.