Obituary of Roy White

View Video Tribute Roy Eldon White was born June 22, 1936 to Roy Williams and Ethel Louise Braly White in Longmont, Colorado. The youngest of four children, he was raised on the family farm south of Hygiene, Colorado, just west of Longmont. Roy attended grade school at Hygiene and graduated from Longmont High School with the class of 1953, shortly before his seventeenth birthday. His recollections of his childhood with his family growing up were of putting up hay, filling silo, picking corn and spending the next year feeding it. He and his siblings were very active in 4-H, showing animals and doing other projects that go with it. He didn’t participate in high school sports because he always held a job after school with Sealander-Parker Implement to help support the household. However, he was involved in the FFA chapter and especially enjoyed the judging contest. Roy and Ethel White’s kids grew up working hard and Roy E. was no exception. Upon graduation, Roy began driving a truck for Bates Brothers, Lloyd Meyer and Ernie Peterson. When he wasn’t on the road he would help Claude Osborn with his fertilizer business running an applicator. One of the summers of his early adult life were spent working for Frank Hartnagle north of Bennett, Colorado. He spent a lot of time sitting on an “Râ€? John Deere pulling a Moline one-way. He made the statement that “it was a long way around a section.â€? In the summer of 1958, he met Luanne Whaley of Erie, Colorado. This meeting would prove to last a lifetime. They were married in Boulder, Colorado on July 13, 1959. While dating Luanne and working for the LaSalle Mining Company at Jamestown, Colorado, he was called to serve his country in the United States Army. He served his country from December 1958 and was honorably discharged in December 1960. His basic training was in Fort Benning Georgia, and he was stationed in Bamberg, Germany along the Czech border of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. While he was proud to serve his country, he still had a “short-timersâ€? calendar that he faithfully kept updated. During this time, Luanne was able to be in Germany with Roy and lived off base. This time in their life would prove to be precious for them as they started their life together. Luanne recalls feeding many of Roy’s army buddies numerous times. Luanne returned home in December of 1960, and on the 16th gave birth to their only son, David Scott. Upon Roy’s return after his stint in the Army, he and Luanne made their home in Longmont. He worked for Kats Implement until the fall of 1961 when he purchased a tractor and equipment and started custom farming. This business grew from ensilage and ear corn harvest to plowing, beet thinning and baling. Roy’s family had ties in eastern Colorado since the late 30’s. With the urbanization of the front range, Roy and Luanne decided to follow his brother’s family and parents to the eastern plains in March 1969. Roy rented farm ground from Jake Hasart north of Stratton and raised sugar beets and pinto beans. Anyone who was in the beet business in 1969 will remember when the crop froze in the ground. Roy rented additional ground from Ernie Cure in 1970 but was not able to overcome the losses of the previous year. Consequently Roy and Luanne sold their machinery in March of 1971, and Roy held various jobs with Ernie Cure, Stratton Co-op and Gary Bryant until he entered a new time in his life. Adversity, hardship causes a person to reflect on who they are and where they are going. Selling his machinery and all that he had worked hard for made an impact on his life which he never forgot. That being said, Roy was influenced by the faith that his Mother and his Grandma Braly had in Jesus Christ. When Roy and his family moved to town, there were influences of special people that touched not only Roy’s life, but also the lives of Luanne and David. Roy, Luanne and some close friends started a bible study and from that point, Roy recommitted his life to Christ in 1972. He later shared that commitment to all by being baptized along with his wife and son in December 1973. The road of life has a way of making strange turns, and this was no exception for Roy. From the time he was in high school, Roy had a passion for repairing and building things. Welding and fabrication were always his strong suit, and the skills he learned doing this in his own farming pursuits would reward him later in life. After quitting farming, the family briefly lived in Yuma, Colorado where he was employed by Interstate Irrigation. This opportunity allowed him to not only use skills he had but to be exposed to pipe welding. This new passion he would use for the next 20 years in business endeavors that he would pursue. He would become involved in many facets in the irrigation and oil field construction industries in Eastern Colorado and even owning his own welding shop. It was told that one of Roy’s greatest satisfactions of life were the times that he and his son worked together in those fields of endeavor. David always wanting to follow in his Dad’s footsteps and worked side by side with his father for several years and worked an area from the front range of Colorado east to the plains of western Kansas and southwest Nebraska. Many of the things that Roy and Dave built over the years are still in service today. David married Carmen Webber in July of 1987, and to this union brought probably the greatest joys to Roy’s life. August of 1990, Scott Glenn was born, and in July 1993, Stuart William was born. Roy always said in jest that if he had it to do over again, he would have just had grandkids. The last two years of Roy’s life were especially precious to him, but also to Scott and Stuart. Roy always knew the sound of Scott’s pickup and enjoyed going to Seibert with the boys to get animal feed for the various 4-H projects. The last years of Roy’s life were bothered by health issues. Emphysema and a congestive heart condition prohibited him from doing many things that he enjoyed. In spite of this, he enjoyed his wife and family, going to coffee, doing crossword puzzles and spending time with “Petieâ€? his cat. Roy White departed this life to be with his Lord and Savior, September 19, 2006 at the Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital. His wife, son and daughter-in-law were all present with him at his death. He was preceded in death by his parents Roy and Ethel White and one sister, Lois Bigelow. Surviving him is his wife, Luanne of the home, son David and wife Carmen and grandsons Scott and Stuart White of Stratton, sister Louise and husband Charlie O’Donnell of Las Cruces, New Mexico, brother Richard and wife Mary of Burlington and many nephews and nieces. Services will be held at the Bethel Assembly of God in Burlington, Colorado on September 23, 2006 at 10:30 AM with Pastor Ray Wagoner officiating. Memorials may be left at the First National Bank in Stratton in Roy’s name. The family thanks you for all the prayers, phone calls, visits, food, flowers and cards.