Larrye Joe White

Published 6:15 pm Thursday, March 18, 2010

Larrye Joe White, 63, of Gulfport, went to be with the LordMarch 16, 2010, at home, surrounded by family and friends. He wasborn March 29, 1946, in McComb, the son of the late Joe Clyde Whiteand the late Margie Murrell White, and Addie Herring White, all ofMcComb. He was also preceded in death by Maude and Bud Bacot, ofMcComb, who loved him as their son, and his sister, Kay HerringHill, of Tylertown.

He is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 45 years, PatsyBacot White, his high school sweetheart.

He is the oldest of eight siblings and survived by Gaylon White, ofCharlotte, N.C.; Randy and Susan White, of McComb, Mark and MelodyWhite, of Gulfport, Mark and Janet White-Alvarez, of Ft. WaltonBeach, Fla.; William and Debbie Herring Monk, of Mendenhall,Charlie and Tawana Herring, of Columbia, Maxy Hill, of Tylertown,Bobby and Carol Bacot, and Judy Bickham Bacot, all of McComb.

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He is survived by his sons, William Timothy White, of McComb, andRobert Joely White, of Gulfport; one daughter-in-law, AmandaSchilling White; five grandchildren, Presley, Tristan and GracynWhite, of Gulfport, and Blaine and Hadyn White, of McComb; extendedfamily, Suzanne Schilling, of Gulfport, Scott and Anna Griffin andtheir children McGwire and Hallel, of Gulfport; a host of nieces,nephews, other relatives, and the best loving friends.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to hisoncologist, Dr. Lydia Latour and her staff, Lady Thompson, SherryKergosien, and Jennifer Wright; and Larrye’s oncologist nurse andbuddy, Susan Wazniek; the hospice nurse, Gracie, and Gulf CoastHospice.

After being diagnosed with colon cancer in November 2006, Larryewas given a prognosis of 20 to 22 months. With Larrye’sdetermination, his fighter attitude against this horrible disease,the loving support of his family and friends, his treasured timewith his precious grandchildren who changed his life forever, theongoing, compassionate and loving treatment by his doctor, nurseand medical staff, he was able to be with his family 40 memorablemonths. Traveling the western states for a month with his family inhis new RV, to Disney World several times, on a three-week tour ofEurope with Miss Addie and Patsy, on a cruise with Patsy to Alaska,to climb an Alaskan mountain with his son, brothers and nephewslast May, countless trips in the RV to Florida, to the Sugar Bowlgame and numerous Saints games with Tim and Joely, to two SuperBowl games (the last in February to see the Saints win), attendinghundreds of gym meets, soccer and baseball games to cheer for hisgrandchildren and this last year, building a home for he and Patsyto replace the dream home lost in Pass Christian to Katrina. Larryemade a lot of memories with his family, all while enduring the meanside effects of chemo and the pain from his cancer.

From his two paper routes as a child to the many businesses heowned, Larrye never shirked hard work and long hours, and eventhough he and Patsy suffered major business and personal losses totwo natural disasters, he always forged ahead to overcome andsucceed. This success included his coaching pee-wee football, hissons’ Babe Ruth baseball teams, and in his later years, coachingand supporting his grandchildren’s baseball teams and acting as”wet towel and water boy” for Presley’s soccer teams.

Starting at age 21, he began his entrepreneurial road. One of themost enjoyable was in the motorcycle industry where he and hisfamily were able to participate together in and attend variousmotocross events, which continued and strengthened their bond andrelationship. This road also led to Royer Homes of Mississippi,which Larrye and Patsy started in 1985 along with partners Floydand Kit Burton of Lake Charles, La., who became lifelong mentorsand loving friends. Larrye and Patsy became sole stockholders in1987. Over the life of the company, helping over 10,000 familiesfind their new home with the help of Tim, Joely, and Amanda,thousands of Royer staff and contractors, Larrye led the company toeight locations, a furniture division, a décor division, aninsurance and mortgage division, plus a transportation and homeset-up company. Royer Homes, during its 20 years and from its firstyear, consistently ranked as the top retailer of various homemanufacturers and nationally for loan closings in the top 10 andtop 35 for national home mortgage lenders in their industry. Underhis leadership, Royer was one of the most innovative retailersoffering comprehensive training to its personnel and offering theircustomers a true home experience with fully furnished, decorated,temperature controlled, and landscaped model home displays.

Larrye strived to make opportunities for his entire family to spendtime together to further strengthen their bond of love and kinship.For those extra efforts by him, his children, siblings, and theirchildren will be forever grateful. This success is his mostvaluable legacy. Larrye prized and adored his grandchildren whogave to a new meaning to his life. Being with them, loving thembecame his priority.

A memorial in celebration of Larrye’s life will be held Saturday,March 20, 2010, at New Heights Baptist Church in Summit at 11 a.m.Visitation will be held from 10 until 11 a.m. Brother Rick Kennedywill be officiating with Raymond Griffin, a special cousin andfriend of Houston, Texas; Sherwin Beadle, former Royer HomesCorporate Service Manager and loved friend of Osyka; and KristiMatthews, former Royer Homes Corporate Office Manager and lovingfriend of McComb participating.

An open house for friends and family to celebrate Larrye’s birthdayand his final masterpiece project, his and Patsy’s new home inGulfport, will be held there on Saturday, March 27, 2 until 4p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family prefers garden plants to be plantedin a memorial courtyard garden at their new home in Gulfport.

Riemann Family Funeral Home, of Gulfport, is in charge ofarrangements.

A guestbook may be signed at www.riemannfamily.com.