Apr 27, 2018
From his daughter, Lori.
I will tell you some official things to begin. My dad passed away at East Kootenay Hospital at 5 pm on Friday, April 27, 2018. He was the only son of E. King White and Mildred (McKinnon) White, and was born in Kimberley, BC. He grew up in Kimberley and had a younger sister, Kathy (White) Young. He lived in Kimberley his entire life. And, honestly, would complain about it, but loved the town, and its sense of community.
He was not my "real" dad, but my mom told me I always chose him. I told her, he was the one I wanted as my dad. I cannot always say that as I got older, that he did not drive me crazy, and that I never screamed at him, "you are not my dad", but at the end of the day, I cannot imagine another perfectly perfect father.
Looking back he had a very cool life...not many of you might have known, but my dad (Terry) was a drag car racer. He had a car called "Purple Haze", and as its name would suggest, it was a beast of the purple persuasion that dug into the asphalt and took off at dizzying speeds over a short distance. From what I hear from his friends, it was a sight to behold. I, apparently got to see it, after I chose him for a father, but my memory of it, is pretty spotty.
His love of cars did not end there. I remember growing up with his Monte Carlo...a beautiful blue, shimmery sleek car...that had an 8trak stereo system. It was fast...I loved going fast as a kid, and he always gave into my requests. But, as he knew, it always needed to be accompanied by the 8trak of the "Batman" theme song...I am talking, "na na na na na na BATMAN" lyrics, over and over again...to the point his head probably wanted to explode...but he would always take out the music he was listening to (I have to assume Chicago or something) to make us kids happy.
I did not realize how much my life was a combination of fast cars and train stations until I was much older...the Monte Carlo turned into a Oldsmobile Omega, and we were spending much more time in my dad's next passion...trains.
And here begins, our love/hate relationship...he loved trains...I (bleep) hated them. We will not concentrate on my feelings here. Terry LOVED trains...collecting them, tracking them at train yards, finding them on mountain passes, and making us wait for them for hours to come by! (Oh, wait, maybe some of my feelings are coming through, lol.) His passion for trains started in his childhood, with a train set he got from his parents. It blossomed into a lifelong hobby. Holidays spent at train conventions, exploring the mountains to see trains go over the awesome and incredible engineering feats of our time, were many of our family vacations. To the day of his death, his passion never waned.
My dad was a simple man. He lived simply, and he gave his time to his passions.
From what I have heard from his neighbours and friends, he will be missed. I do not know his every day in the last few years, but I do know, he will be missed by more than me. He was a smart ass, and always liked to flirt where he could. He went every day to a local coffee shop to shoot the shit and catch up on the current gossip of the town. To this place, I love you...I know you were the thing he got up for every morning. Whenever we chatted or got together in person, it was always in our conversation.
And then he was not well. I live in Edmonton, and I got the call from my mom...he had not updated his information. But, I have to say, thank goodness. She called me and I was able to get there as quickly as I could. (Thank you so much, Louise.) He went to the hospital on Tuesday and I stayed with him til the end. I just want to thank the hospital staff so much, involved in his care. My goodness, Denise in ICU. Denise knew dad, and just having her there knowing all of his expressions and his entire personality meant the world. I gave her a hug as I left and it made me feel so comfortable, like moving on was the right decision.
And then when we moved up to the 3rd floor, we had the most amazing nurses. Jessie and Katie (the ninja) treated my dad with such an amazing amount of respect and compassion. I have heard a lot about how our medical system does not work... I disagree, these women never failed us in our stress or grief. Hug a nurse is all I can say (Unless they do not want to be).
Terry is survived by daughter, Lori and sister, Kathy, brother- in-law, Allan, and niece and nephew, Janna and Graeme. He is predeceased by his mother and father, Mildred and King White, and his son, Frank.
Dad was adamant he did not want a funeral, but there will be an open house on Saturday, May 5th at McPherson Funeral Home in Kimberley, between 1-3 pm, if you would like to come and share some stories.
Arrangements entrusted to McPherson Funeral Service. Condolences for the family can be offered at: www.mcphersonfh.com
McPherson Funeral Service