Harold White

Harold H White, age 88, died on April 2nd in Sunnyside. He was born in Kent, Washington March 1, 1927. He spent most of his youth in Dent County Missouri until enlisting in the US Army where he served during WWII in Sicily and Italy. After his release from the Army, he moved to Grandview where he met and married the love of his life, Maxine B Cresci in 1948. In 1951 Harold & Maxine, along with daughter Nancy, set out for an adventure to Alaska driving their 1949 Ford along the gravel road that would later become the Alcan Highway, stopping along the way to camp each night. They lived in Anchorage where he worked first as a butcher and later built houses in partnership with Lowell Crabb. Their son, David was born there in 1952. Harold and Lowell used their down time to take their families camping and fishing for salmon and just enjoying the wild Alaska wilderness. After living in Alaska for several years, they returned to the ‘Lower 48’ and purchased and ran Black & White’s Corner Gas Station in Grandview. In 1954 they moved back to the Cresci family farm where he and Maxine raised asparagus and grapes. Harold worked for Twin City Foods in Prosser for over 35 years while running the farm with the help of his wife, taking only Saturdays off for rest and Church. Harold and Maxine joined the National Grape Co-Op in 1957 and worked hard to improve and expand the vineyards. Their hard work and perseverance was honored in 2005 with a grower profile in the National Grape Co-op News. He & his son proudly accepted his 50 Year Welch Membership Plaque in 2007. Harold loved walking through the vineyards tending the water and ensuring that each vine was flourishing. After Maxine’s sudden passing in 2005, Harold was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and soon moved in with his son and daughter-in-law Terri. He lived with them until moving to Prestige Healthcare in Grandview in 2009 where he truly loved his caregivers and they truly loved him. The family heard over and over again what a true gentleman Harold was and everyone at Prestige enjoyed providing him the best possible care. Harold especially admired and took great pleasure in his friendship with Bill Owens, who was the head of maintenance. Bill always took the time to stop and visit with Harold and they remained friends to the end. Harold was preceded in death by Maxine, his wife of 56 years, and his parents LeRoy and Amanda (Gibbs) White. He had three brothers and one sister (Glen, Raymond, Clifford and Mary). He is survived by his son, David White and daughter-in-law Terri of Grandview and daughter, Nancy Pinarcik and son-in-law George of Maricopa, Arizona. Harold and Maxine had four grandchildren: Michelle Kyle (Eric) of Peyton Colorado, Tiffani Rowland (Coleman) of Grandview, Andrew White (Erin) of Yakima and Lucas White (Christina) of Pasco. He was blessed with four great-grandchildren: Alison and Garrett Kyle and Jackson and Ryan Rowland. He is also survived by his brothers-in-law Dick (Pat) Cresci and Doc (June) Cresci. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, 322 8th Ave 7th Floor, New York, NY 10001. Grave-side services will be held at the Grandview Cemetery on Friday, April 10th at 3:00 pm followed by a time to share memories with the family at the Seventh Day Adventist Church at 106 N Elm St, Grandview. Arrangements in Care of Valley Hills Funeral Home in Sunnyside. Condolences can be sent to www.valleyhillsfh.com To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Harold White, please visit our flower store.