HARWICH, MA- Bernard Thomas White of Harwich, Massachusetts, age 95, died peacefully at his home on Saturday, January 28. Despite being afflicted with Parkinson's for the last few years, Bernard maintained a quiet dignity and a keen interest in current affairs and in the lives of family members and friends.
Born in Webster, Massachusetts on April 22, 1916, he was the son of the late John and Mary Ellen White. He graduated from Providence College in 1940.
He taught and coached at St. Raphael Academy in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and Bartlett High School in Webster, Massachusetts. In 1942, he entered the Army, where he was Master Sergeant in the 415th Field Artillery, stationed in Newport, Rhode Island.
In 1945, he became principal of Maynard (Massachusetts) High School. While working there, he met Mary E. Coleman, a teacher at the school, whom he married in 1950. They settled in Framingham.
From 1948 to 1956, he was Assistant Professor of School and College Relations in the Division of Central Admissions at Boston University, visiting high schools throughout New England to administer college admission tests and recruit students. He received his Master’s in Education from Boston University in 1954. He served as Director of Guidance and Associate Superintendent for Pupil Personnel Services for the Town of Framingham, overseeing the growth of the student guidance program from 1956 until his retirement in 1979.
During his professional career, he taught graduate courses in counseling and school administration at Framingham State College and Boston College. He was elected as the first president of the Massachusetts School Counselors Association in 1960. He also devoted many years of volunteer service on the board of the Framingham Union Hospital School of Nursing.
Bernie and Mary were summer visitors to Cape Cod since the 1940s. They bought a cottage in Dennisport in 1965, and built a new home in Harwich in 1980. For twenty years, they spent part of each winter at Isla del Sol in St. Petersburg, Florida.
A lifelong golfer, Bernie enjoyed playing challenging courses in Massachusetts and Florida, and was a longtime member of Cranberry Valley Golf Course in Harwich. As an athlete and sports enthusiast, he avidly followed the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins and Patriots.
Bernie sang bass with the Cape Cod Surftones and the barbershop quartet, The Harborside Harmonizers, which also featured Carl Rostek, Bob Norum and Rod MacDonald. His fondest memories included performing for many years as a barbershop quartet at First Night in Chatham and on the Cape Cod Dinner Train, and in the Monomoy Theater production of The Music Man.
Bernie lost his wife Mary in 2007 after 57 years of marriage. His sister Elizabeth also predeceased him. His survivors include his daughter Mary Beth Congdon and her husband Bob of Hamden, Connecticut, and a grandson David of Washington, DC.
Visiting hours will begin at 9:30 AM on Friday Feb 3rd, 2012 at Doane, Beal & Ames Funeral Home 260 Main St (Rt28) West Harwich, preceding an 11 AM Mass at Holy Trinity Church in West Harwich. The burial will be at 2:30 PM at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Visiting Nurse Association of Cape Cod, or to the charity of your choice.
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