James "Jim" Arlin White

James (Jim) Arlin White, formerly of Sun City West, Arizona, passed away peacefully at home in Peachtree City, Georgia, on December 27, 2023, surrounded by his family.

Jim was born July 21, 1926, in Brilliant, Alabama, the sixth of ten children.  His parents were James Arlin White, Sr., and Eula Ethel (McRea) White.  After his father’s death in 1940, Jim worked a variety of jobs before and after classes at Brilliant High School.

At age 18 Jim enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he served 19 months during World War II.  He was a Coxswain aboard an LSM(R) 515 (medium landing ship) on the way to Japan when the war ended.  Shortly after his discharge he moved to Southern California.

Jim began his career in 1952 in Downey, California with the Associated Telephone Company, later to become General Telephone and Electronics (GTE), and now Verizon.  While working, he continued his education at the local community college and the telephone company’s schools.  At one time he taught “telephony” at the company school in Long Beach.  He progressed steadily to the position of Superintendent of Equipment Maintenance, supervising several facilities until his retirement in 1984.

Jim was baptized into the Catholic Church in March 1951.  He and Marjorie Kathryn Baum were married on May 31, 1951 at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Elgin, Nebraska.  They raised their four children in the Downey/Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs area of California until 1994 when they moved to their new retirement home in Sun City West, Arizona.

While in Norwalk, Jim was an active member of the Whittier Lions Clubs International, the Independent Telephone Pioneer Association, and numerous bowling leagues.  He was also a perennial American Red Cross blood donor.

An avid gardener after retirement, Jim often had bumper crops of oranges, grapefruit, and a variety of vegetables including okra and zucchini, that he and Marjorie shared with friends, neighbors, and the local food bank in Sun City West.  Never to be deterred by the evolution of technology, he learned to use a computer when he was 80 and a cell phone shortly thereafter.  Reading news on the internet and corresponding by email and video chats with family and friends brought him much joy.

Jim is survived by his devoted wife of 72 years, Marjorie, and their four children and their spouses: Mary White (George Dinius), James III (Kristi), Carolyn Witthoft (Charles), and Jeanette Egerstrom (Ken).  Additional survivors are his sister Billie Boteler of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, brother Jerry of Florence, Alabama, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his parents James and Eula McRea White, as well as his siblings Ernest, Pauline Fabsitz, Marlin, Bob, Jack, Gene, and Maudine Franks, and his infant granddaughter Rose Egerstrom.

Jim was always gracious, kind, and gentle, and greatly beloved by his family, friends, colleagues, and caregivers.