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Long Beach Press Telegram Dec.13 Saturday
edition

Popular L.B. lawyer dies

William White was in black Army battalion, backed civil rights.

Wendy Thomas Russell

Staff writer

Friday, December 12, 2003 - Prominent Long Beach attorney William L.
"Bill' White, who fought in an all-black Army battalion during World War
II and then dedicated his early career to helping blacks gain equality,
has died.

The longtime Long Beach fixture succumbed to organ failure while
convalescing from a head injury sustained during a fall at his home
three months ago, said his son, William White Jr. He was 80.

Known for wearing double- breasted pinstripe suits with cowboy boots to
reflect his Oklahoma roots, Bill was a kind, caring attorney with bright
eyes and an infectious laugh. He was an avid reader, and a passionate
supporter of the civil-rights movement.

But Bill always said his greatest legacy was his son. And on Friday, his
son said his father was his greatest gift.

" I'm proud that he was my father,' said William, an English teacher and
documentary filmmaker. "He was always there for me.'

William, who was living in Japan when he discovered his father had been
hospitalized, spent the past three months by his father's side.

" Of course, he wanted me to follow in his footsteps and become an
attorney,' William said Friday, as he choked back tears. "But when I
told him I wasn't into it, he never pushed me. He wasn't angry. He
supported everything I wanted to do.'

Bill was born July 27, 1923, in Boley, Okla., and lost both of his
parents after the Great Depression left the family destitute. After his
parents' deaths, he and his sisters went to live with relatives.

Bill ended up in Long Beach, and he never left.

He attended Poly High School and graduated with honors the first black
student to do so. Then he fought in World War II, and used the GI Bill
to go to college. He graduated from USC and started applying to law
schools almost immediately.

In an interview with the Press- Telegram three years ago, Bill recalled
how tough it was to get accepted to a law school because of his race.

" I suppose I wrote to every law school in the country,' Bill said, his
sense of humor taking over. "I wrote to Harvard. Sent them a picture;
didn't ever hear from them.'

He also recalled how, during his early years in practice, he was made to
wait for his cases to be heard until every other lawyer was finished.
His graciousness, patience and persistence, however, won him a stellar
reputation in the local legal community through the years.

" He's one of those people who is a credit to the (state) Bar,' said
Long Beach Superior Court Judge Arthur Jean, who knew Bill for 30 years.
'He is
what lawyering is all about.'

Bill's hospitality was widely known and probably dated back to those
days in Oklahoma.

" Our mother always told us to treat everyone right because you never
know who will have to pick you up out of the street,' Bill's younger
sister, Pauline Hudson, said Friday. "So he did that. He treated
everyone kindly, and we'll miss him.'

In addition to his son and younger sister, White is survived by his
wife, Barbara, and his older sister, Noneta Barnes of Oklahoma City. He
was preceded in death by a third sister, Vivian Adair, of Los Angeles.

Services will be at the Long Beach Colonial Mortuary, 638 Atlantic Ave.,
in Long Beach. Those interested in attending may call the mortuary next
week at (562) 436-1601 for the funeral's date and time.

Reprinted from the Long Beach Telegram Without Permission as of yet!