Francis White, 96, a former resident of Muscatine, Iowa, passed away on Sunday, June 5, 2022, at Desert Treasure Assisted Living.
Following a viewing in the church, a Funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at the St. Mathias Church, 215 West Eighth Street, Muscatine. Burial will take place in Greenwood Cemetery at 12 noon. Online condolences may be directed to the Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home: www.wittichfuneralhome.com .
Francis was born on April 16, 1926, in Atalissa, the son of Walter Joseph and Inez Marie Cunningham White. He married Donna Rock on November 11, 1946, in Iowa City, Iowa. Lifelong residents of Muscatine, they retired to Tucson, AZ, in 2008, where they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on November 11, 2016.
Affectionately known as “Whitey” by his co-workers, Francis retired from HON industries on Oak Street after a long career supervising and mentoring hundreds of employees for 32 years. A devoted family man and a faithful parishioner in the SS. Mary and Mathias Parish, Francis enjoyed dancing at the Moose Lodge, camping, riding dirt bikes, stock car races, and, later in life, watching NASCAR races.
Those left to honor his memory include four children, Frances Flessa, Nancy Hancock, Connie Kossman and husband Don, and John White and wife Cynthia; four grandchildren, Sonya Henson and husband Rob, Heather Hunter and husband Ken, Shawn Inglish, and Mary White; ten great-grandchildren, Elizabeth Farr and husband Justin, Zachary Henson, Jesse Hunter, Hannah Witt and husband Derrick, Jenna Hunter, Joshua Henson, Kutter Baumgartner, Rebekah Inglish, Sarah Inglish, and Emmett Inglish; and three great great-grandchildren, Braydon Farr, Kinleigh Shewmaker and Bliss Witt.
Francis was preceded in death by his parents; his wife Donna, in 2017; brother, Joseph; and two sisters, Geraldine and Eileen.
