Wayne Delbert White

Wayne Delbert White, age 77, of Woodburn, Oregon, went to His Heavenly Home, August 15, 2023. Wayne was born in San Francisco, CA, to LaVerne Delbert and Christina Marie White. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Theresa Frances White; daughter Laura Sumner (Chris); and son Wayne White (Audrey). His grandchildren; Josh Sumner (Lauren), Tyler White, Luke Sumner, Brayden White, Ashton Rotenberry, Natalia Rotenberry. He is preceded by his brother Ronald White (Ethel); and survived by his sister Joan Cross (preceded by Rick); and several nieces and nephews. In 1964, Wayne graduated from Jefferson High School where he was an avid athlete. After high school, he was awarded a football scholarship at San Mateo Junior College. As a favorite past-time he participated in Roller Derby as a professional skater for the San Francisco Bay Bombers. On June 29, 1965 he enlisted in the Army where he served in Vietnam. Upon returning from Vietnam, he married Theresa Frances Pacheco and together they started their family. He was stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland where daughter Laura Michelle was born. After completing military service, they moved to the San Francisco Bay area to continue his education. Wayne received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and his teaching credentials at San Francisco State. He moved the family to Bakersfield, California where he was a middle school teacher and coach. He received his master’s degree in child psychology, along with having his second child, Wayne Mathes. From there Wayne moved his family to San Jose, California where he successfully ran his own counseling business called White & Associates. In 1983, he moved his family to Stafford, Virginia where he returned to federal services with the U.S. Veterans Administration (VA). At the VA, as the Director of Outreach at what is commonly known as a Vet Center, Wayne established what was considered the “model” VA center in the United States. Wayne chose to stay in the Northern Virginia location, hired a staff of counselors and support personnel and became the national spokesperson for the VA when the movie Platoon was produced. He was even interviewed by Good Morning America and several newspapers. In addition, he was the recipient the 1000 points of Light from the Bush Administration. In his free time, Wayne enjoyed golfing, fishing, and running. Also, he was Grand Knight for the Knights of Columbus and won family of the year in 1988. In April of 1989, Wayne transferred to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where he used his expertise in substance abuse rehabilitation, grief counseling and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in support of the diverse EPA workforce. During the aftermath of 911, Wayne travelled to assist New York-based EPA employees where he organized EPA’s trauma counseling response using 23 counselors to debrief nearly 850 employees over a 3-day period to address PTSD issues. For this he received several recognitions: EPA Bronze Award; Excellence in Response appreciation from Christine Todd Whitman, Administrator, USEPA; and National Treasure Award for his outstanding “ongoing response to employees seeking employee counseling assistance program services.” Wayne also provided services to the Office of Criminal Enforcement and Forensic Training to deal with traumatic encounters and received a certificate of appreciation for his dedication to the homeland security efforts of the EPA Office of Criminal Enforcement Homeland Security Division. During his government employment, his favorite past-time was spent participating in several Senior Olympic track and field events where he won many awards. After 28 years, Wayne retired from the Environmental Protection Agency in September 2017. Funeral services will be held Saturday, September 9, 2023, at Simon-Cornwell Colonial Chapel, 390 North 2nd Street, Woodburn, Oregon 97071 at 10:00am. The family will have a celebration of life at the family home following service. Flowers can be ordered through Valley Pacific Floral www.valleypacificfloral.com

Tributes

Wayne Delbert White

June 10, 1946 - August 15, 2023