Coley Brian White (2022)

BURCH, GRAYSON, HANSON, HARRIS, HUNT, MCDANIEL, NIELSEN, WHITE

Posted By: Pat Hochstetler
Date: 11/8/2023 at 18:03:12

Winterset Madisonian
Winterset, Iowa
Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Coley Brian White was born in Lancaster, Calif., on Jan. 20, 1968, to John Paul and Rama Jean (Grayson) White. He died from complications of Caroli’s Syndrome (a rare liver disease) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb., on Feb. 1, 2022.

Coley graduated from Indio High School in Indio, Calif., and attended Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, Calif. He worked for United Airlines from 1994 until his passing. He was honored as United’s Employee of the Year in 2019, being selected from all of United’s employees worldwide. He loved working there and traveled all around the globe during his career with the company.

He loved hockey and was given the moniker “Coley the Goalie” because he was always the goalie with his team when he played. He made Winterset his permanent home and was a wonderful addition to the community. He loved everything Winterset and Iowa, including its people. He made his house his own through hard work and detailed care and his favorite view of the town was the Madison County Courthouse, which he could clearly see from an upstairs window. Family ties played a big part in his life, and he spent time with relatives in the community.

Coley will be cremated and one of these days some of his ashes will float over Dingle, Ireland—his favorite place in the world. The rest will be buried next to his grandparents, Marie and Paul White at Winterset Cemetery.

His memory will be cherished by those he leaves behind: his father, John Paul White of Hemet, Calif; his mother Rama Jean Harris and step father James (Peter) Hanson of Naples, Fla.; his brother, Patrick White of Temple, Texas; his step brothers, Chad Harris of Woodland Hills, Calif., and Randy Harris of Tehachapi, Calif.; his aunts, Anne Nielsen of Winterset and Gayle McDaniel of Florida; his uncles, John Hunt and Tim Hunt of Winterset; and Bill Burch of Myrtle Beach, Fla. He will especially be miss by his childhood “brother-friend” (More brother than friend), John Hennigan of Temecula, Calif. They talked almost daily (sometimes several times a day) until Coley could not continue this due to his illness. Scott Toland from Los Angeles was another best friend who was there for Coley in the best of times and worse of times. Scott checked in daily when Coley was so ill. Prior to Coley’s passing, his wonderful caring friends, Jeff and Helen Miler of Costa Mesa cared for him at their home while he was in and out of the hospital in Orange County. He had so many friends with so much unselfish love. He will not be forgotten by many cousins and other fantastic friends and Winston, his beloved rescue cat, who now has a home with his dear friends Martha and Tom Knapp of Winterset.

These words taken from his mother’s message to family and friends sum up Coley’s essence: “Feb. 1, 2022—Today our Coley passed away at 3:10 p.m. He had 4 cardiac arrests and he just couldn’t be saved. He loved his friends as all of you know—thank you for loving him back. He loved his family, and it would be impossible not to love our Coley. His light was positive and bright and radiated warmth wherever he went. Thank you for offering prayers and whatever you thought he could use to life him up. At some point in time, we will try and get together and tell some funny stories and laugh a lot. Coley will be there too because he will be in our hearts.”

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