Mr. Arnold George White

Arnold passed away peacefully on February 25, 2023 at Tudor Manor in Okotoks, Alberta. He was born in Provost, Alberta on March 9, 1930. Arnold was predeceased by our Mom, Helen, his wife and partner of 58 years, parents George and Margaret White and brothers-in-law Bob Simanton, David, Alex and Dennis Kean. He is survived by sister Edie, son Glen (Sylvia) and their children Shane (Angela), Lance and Nicole (Clark), son Gary and his children Alan, Hayley and Jacob and son Bruce. Arnold and Helen were further blessed with many great- and great- great grandchildren. Dad's earliest years were spent on a farm at Eye Hill near Provost and then in 1941 the family relocated to Drumheller, Alberta. He attended the University of Alberta earning his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. After graduation, he began work with Cominco, first in Calgary then transferring to Trail, B.C.in 1951 to work as a research engineer. In 1956, Mom had just completed her nursing training and moved to Trail with her friend Maureen Milne. Mom and Dad were married in 1957 and continued to make Trail their home until 2005 when they relocated to High River, Alberta to be closer to family. We teased Dad that the real reason for moving to High River was so that he could go to Smitty's every day for his favourite pancake breakfast! Dad retired from Cominco in 1989 as General Manager of Cominco's Electronic Materials Division after helping grow this business from some of his original research. He then worked for Johnson Matthey until fully retiring in 1990. Dad would often comment that he was so busy in retirement that he wondered how he had ever found time for work. Genealogical research became his passion. His research saw Mom and Dad travel across Canada several times, down to the U.S. and over to England and Scotland. Along the way they saw the country and met many relatives and made many new friends. After Helen's Alzheimer's Disease took hold, Arnold was her caregiver until she passed in 2015. Arnie loved to tell stories. One of his favourites was about the theft of the cornerstone from the Rutherford Library at the University of Alberta. Brief version is the cornerstone commemorating construction of the new library was to be dedicated by the Premier and other dignitaries at a special ceremony. But the cornerstone went missing the night before the ceremony. Fortunately, after a frantic search, the cornerstone was located just in time for the dedication. While the culprits were never found, footprints in the snow seemed to suggest that residents of St. Joseph's College were responsible. Over the years, there were whispers that some of the engineers and aggies from St. Stephen's College (of which Dad was one) had orchestrated the theft and set up St. Joe's to take the fall - Arnie never said for sure! And Arnie loved cars - so much so that he always seemed to be in the process of getting a new one. A MOPAR nut from the start, perhaps his favourite was the "old blue car" - a 1954 Plymouth Savoy that he drove for over 40 years. Memorial services will be held at High River and Trail at a later date. Lyle Reeves Funerals of High River have been entrusted with arrangements. You are invited to leave a personal message of condolence at Arnold's tribute page at lylereeves.com.Special thanks to Edie Simanton, Janna and Isaac Barrett, Pam Ganske, Dr. Steed and all the wonderful people at Tudor Manor who worked so hard to make Arnie comfortable during his time there. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Canadian Cancer Society or Alzheimer Society of Canada are appreciated. Caring for the family is Lyle Reeves Funerals of High River (Craig Snodgrass) 403.652.4242.

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Mr. Arnold George White

March 9, 1930 - February 25, 2023