Howard Keith White

Howard Keith White was born February 8, 1927 to Harmon Taylor White and Nellie Gladys Beasley White.  He was their third child.  He had three brothers: Lowell, Kenneth, and Dale, and a sister Violet Lavon better known as Betty.  Howard survived all of them.  Howard saw his first angel at the age of 5, shortly after the death of his mother.  The angel had a feminine appearance in a blue gown, and she told Howard he would live with his grandmother and everything would be alright.  This was not the only angel seen at this time of the death of Nellie Gladys for one was seen by members of the Beasley family, and this story was told to me by a cousin of his.  The grandmother who raised him was Eliza Taylor White, and she was the strongest influence on his young life.  Her own family had been displaced during the time of the War Between the States and the Reconstruction period. A story of a courthouse fire gave credence to the story there were no records of her actual birth year, and she became as young as she needed to be to add Lowell, Kenneth, Howard and Betty to her household.  Protecting family and keeping them together whenever possible is a major theme to his life.  Being strong and financially independent were other themes.  Howard graduated from New Madison High School.  He enlisted in the U.S. Army, and he was stationed in Germany as constabulary police. He was near the scene of the death of General Patton.  He attended the Nuremberg trials at a time when Hermann Goering committed suicide by swallowing cyanide.  Howard returned to Greenville, OH after his service.  He met Dolores Powell at the Hudson dealership.  She has been the love of his life, and they married in September, 1951. Their family is Dee Renee (Don) Chesnut, Eric Howard White, Patrick Kelly (Leah) White, and Dane Powell (Dorcas) White.  Howard had many jobs over his life.  I remember most vividly when he worked as a tool and die machinist at Natco in Richmond, when he was the manager of New Madison Eavey, and then SuperValu grocery, and when he owned Camden IGA with Dolores.  Since coming to Camden in 1966, Howard and Dolores gave many people their first jobs and tried to give them life lessons about taking pride in their work, saving 10% for their future, and making compound interest work for you instead of against you. They started Camden Improvement organization which helped bring Dr. Thomson to Camden; owned some other businesses in Camden such as White’s Store and Lock; and provided rental housing.  Howard and Dolores have 6 grandchildren: Brian (Emily) Chesnut, Lesley (Brandon) Hummel, Taylor (Sarah) White, Devyn White, Liberty White, and Dalton White.  They have 6 great-grandchildren: Evan, Katie, Nora, and Kyle Chesnut; Liam and Colin Hummel.  They extended their love beyond the direct bloodlines to many others.  Howard and Dolores sold Camden IGA before standard retirement age.  They expanded their love and influence to their neighborhood in Lake Panasoffkee, Florida.  They became permanent Florida residents and live there more than half each year.  Howard and Dolores celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in September, 2015.  Dolores died in 2016.  Do not doubt that if Howard told you that you were his good buddy, then you were.  Funeral services will be held at 10:00 am on Saturday, October 17, 2020 at the Girton Schmidt & Boucher Gard Funeral Home, 226 West Main Street, Eaton, OH with Rev. Arnold Brewer officiating. Burial will be in Fairmount Cemetery, Camden, OH with military honors provided by the Preble County Honor Guard and U.S. Army. Visitation will be held on Friday, October 16, 2020 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the funeral home.  Online condolences and other remembrances may be sent to the family by visiting www.gsbfuneralhome.com.