GREENVILLE - Charles "Charley" Alexander White Jr., 81, passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 24, 2016, surrounded by his children. The funeral service will be held at noon Wednesday (March 30th) in the Sanctuary at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. A private family burial will be held at Greenwood Cemetery before the service.
Charley, a native of Pitt County, was born on March 23, 1935, in Greenville to the late Nancy Lay White and Charles Alexander White Sr. He graduated from Greenville High School, attended The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., and graduated from East Carolina College (ECU) in 1959 with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography.
He was a co-founding member of the Kappa Sigma Nu Colony that led to the founding of the Eta Beta Chapter of Sigma Nu at East Carolina College/University. Charley was one of the early icons of Sigma Nu.
On November 28, 1959, Charley married Sara Elizabeth Adams of Greenville.
Charley owned and operated an independent insurance adjusting company trading under the name of M.E. Gooch and Associates of Greenville Inc. for 50 years. He served as vice-President and member of the Board of Trustees for Whites Stores Inc., a family-owned retail business started by his grandfather, Samuel Tilden White, in 1929.
Charley was a past member of the Greenville Rotary Club and the Elks Club. As a past member of Greenville Country Club, Charley enjoyed playing golf with friends and teaching the game to his children.
Affectionately known as "Ahdaddy" by his grandchildren, Charley and his wife, Sara, gathered their family at the beach home in Atlantic Beach for summers and special occasions. Their love for the ocean and the beach was passed along to his children and grandchildren. Charley and Sara were known to sign cards and personal correspondence with the phrase "With oceans of love and kiss on each wave," a tribute to Charley's mother, Nancy.
In addition to his parents, Charley was preceded in death by his wife, Sara; first grandchild, Breland Adams Pou; brother, Samuel Tilden White II and his wife, Colleen King White; sisters, Nancy "Teeker" Lay White, Barbara Sheppard White Peacock and Elizabeth Atkinson White Clayton; and brother-in-law, Anthony Colin Hayward.
He is survived by his daughter, Virginia Adams White Pou and her husband, Dudley Wilson Pou, of Greenville; daughter, Sara Elizabeth White Fuqua and her husband, William "Traye" Ernest Fuqua III, of Greenville, SC; son, Charles "Charley" Alexander White III and his wife, Jennifer Lynn Gemma White, of Asheville; six grandchildren, Sara Morgan Pou, Cameron Dudley Pou, Cary Virginia Pou, William Alexander Fuqua, John Staton Fuqua and Samuel Borden Fuqua.
He is also survived by his brother, George Lay White and wife, Llew Jean Maynard White, of High Point; sister, Anna Louise White Hayward of Asheville; and brother-in-laws, Alvin Ward Peacock Sr. and John Hutchinson Adams, III.
The family will receive friends at Wilkerson Funeral Home from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday (March 29th) and at other times at the home, 103 Lord Ashley Drive.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly asks that memorial contributions be made to St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 401 E. Fourth St., Greenville, NC 27858 and/or Vidant Health Foundation, designated to: Palliative Care Unit, P.O. Box 8489, Greenville, NC 27835-8489.
Brother Roddy Jones visited Charley just before he passed and had this to say, "Charley was in the original handful of guys that started Kappa Sigma Nu. I had a chance to visit him last week in "Pallative Care" section of Vidiant Hospital-his children were there and told me he couldn't speak or recognize me. When I went in the room, he yelled---"Rod,what are U doing here " and we had a very
lucid 15 min. Conversation! We discussed the past---had some wonderful words. His last statement was----Rod, we have 3 phases on earth--1) we're born, 2)we live & 3) we die and I'm ready for no. 3!! This was a great moment for me to be close to a great man in his final final hours!
--Roddy Jones, Eata Beta 33
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