Peter White

Wibaux, Montana: Peter J. White, age 87, of Wibaux, passed away on Thursday, April 26, 2012 at the Wibaux County Nursing Home in Wibaux. Visitation will be held from 1:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. on Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at the Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home in Wibaux. A Life Tribute Service will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Thursday, May 3, 2012 in the Chapel of the Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home in Wibaux with Celebrant Sandy Silha officiating. Interment will be in the Wibaux Cemetery in Wibaux. Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home of Wibaux has been entrusted with the arrangements. Peter was born on January 14, 1925 in Keeseville, New York, a son of William and Blanche (Gladu) White. He was raised and educated in Keeseville graduating with the class of 1942. After graduation Peter worked in paper mills for many years. On December 25, 1944, Peter married Winifred Facto in Au Sable Forks, New York, where they lived until moving to Wibaux in the late 1980's. When Peter and Winifred arrived in Wibaux they opened the P&W frame shop which they operated for many years. Peter was an avid supporter and fan of the Wibaux Longhorns. He always told all of the kids to bring their award certificates and he would frame them. He enjoyed watching and supporting his grandchildren at all their school events. Peter enjoyed bowling, baseball and football, he especially loved the San Francisco 49ers. Peter will be missed dearly by the community and especially his family. Peter was preceded in death by his parents and one sister, Helen Stay. He is survived by his wife Winifred of Wibaux; one daughter, Maureen (Jim) Brophy of Wibaux; one son, Robert (Leslie) White of Prescott Arizona; three grandchildren, Brady, Jamie and Shad and two great-grandchildren, Adino and Isabel. Memorials are suggested to the Wibaux County Nursing Home in Wibaux. Remembrances and condolences may be shared with the family at: www.silvernale-silhafuneralhome.com. “To have lived well, laughter often, and loved much To have gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of children To have filled a niche and accomplished a task To have left the world better and to have appreciated earth’s beauty and not failed to express it To have looked for the best in others and to have given the best of yourself That is achievement.” During his 87 years of living, Peter “Pete” White achieved all of those things. Let us now pay tribute to Pete and honor and remember a life well lived. It was in the late 1980’s when Pete and his wife Winnie moved to Wibaux. Pete was in his 60’s and he and Winnie came here to be close to their daughter Maureen and their grandchildren. But with Pete and Winnie, life became more than just family; they started a business, formed lasting friendships, and became diehard Longhorns, supporting generations of local kids. In short, Pete and Winnie found a home and community they truly enjoyed, dearly loved and were an active part of. Before Wibaux, most of Pete’s life was spent in small towns in New York State. Pete and Winnie grew up about 10 miles apart, and met through friends. Winnie reports that she didn’t much like Pete at first. But that obstacle was overcome and Pete married Winnie on Christmas Day, shortly before Pete’s 20th birthday. Winnie’s remembers the priest not being very willing to have a wedding on that important church holiday. But married they were, and they began their life journey together that would last more than 67 years. Pete worked in the paper mills in the area, and Pete and Winnie raised their two children, a son Robert, and a daughter, Maureen. The children remember their father as a hard worker. Pete worked 12 hour shifts, and much of his schedule was work and sleep. But when he spent time with his family, Maureen remembers her father as being a “marshmallow”. The family was never well to do, but Robert and Maureen say they never lacked for anything, and in looking back perhaps Pete and Winnie could have had more or done more for themselves, but chose instead to do for their family. Both Robert and Maureen credit their parents for teaching them a good work ethic, as they learned early that for the extras in life, you got to earn them for yourself. Christmas was an important holiday for Pete. It was a time for family, a time to celebrate and give gifts. Important too, was keeping things even with the kids, no favoritism. Robert tells of one Christmas that his dad gave him a few extra dollars, because more had been spent on Maureen’s gifts, and Pete wanted to even it up. Maureen says Pete was like that with his grandchildren also, always keeping it even. When Robert and Maureen grew up, they moved away from the New York area. Vacations for Pete and Winnie became traveling to visit their children. After Pete retired from the paper mill, he and Winnie loaded up their car and moved to California to be near Robert. Pete began working at an art shop, where he learned the craftsmanship of framing. Pete became quite good at framing and even did some out of his garage. Another move occurred, this time to Wibaux, Montana, and once settled, Pete made the courageous decision to begin his own business. Together with Winnie, they opened P & W Frames on main street Wibaux. Hard work, dedication, and a true talent for his craft contributed to making the business a success. Pete was a perfectionist who took great pride in his work. Reasonable prices also helped business, as Pete wasn’t in it to get rich, he just wanted to make a living. Pete also enjoyed visiting with his customers, getting to know them, joking around with them, and sharing ideas about artwork, framing and life in general. His customers were not just local. Just from word of mouth his cliental covered much of North Dakota and Montana, and he even did work for customers in California. He took on big projects, framing for area Ducks Unlimited banquets, but he always had time for the small, inconvenient jobs, putting aside other things for a customer in a hurry, or doing a job on Christmas Day for that last minute gift. But most important was the contribution he made to many members of the community by framing, at no charge, any and all award certificates achieved by the kids of Wibaux. That was Pete’s way of giving back to the community he so dearly loved and enjoyed. Pete eventually retired, selling the shop. But he got it back. Perhaps he set the standard too high, and was a hard act to follow. Even today, many of us can look around our own homes and see and enjoy the work Pete did. Besides his family, P & W Frames was the accomplishment Pete was most proud of. Pete was not a complicated man. Honest and hardworking, he was known to be fiercely independent, and even a bit “bullheaded” as his daughter puts it. He did not want a fuss made over him, not did he ever want to put anyone to any trouble. Always willing to help others, it was hard to do anything for Pete. A friend and neighbor, Deb Zinda termed Pete a “wonderful man”, whose bark was worse than his bite. You didn’t argue with Pete because you wouldn’t win, and it was good to take his comments with a grain of salt. Pete and Winnie were fun to be around, things were always lively. Throughout his life Pete loved sports. He was a pretty good basketball player in his day, and he and Winnie loved to bowl; at one time they belonged to three leagues, both singles and doubles. Deb remembers when Pete and Winnie moved to Wibaux. The pulled up in their van and out came 14 bowling balls, most of them Pete’s. Pete enjoyed watching baseball and football, the San Frisco 49ers being his favorite team. He was a familiar sight wearing his favorite 49ers jacket. After coming to Wibaux, he became a huge fan and supporter of the Wibaux Longhorns. It started with following his grandchildren and cheering them on, but continued after that as he came to know the kids of Wibaux and their parents. An activity Winnie enjoyed was dancing, but Pete did not. Winnie says that for her sake, Pete “danced at it.” After a full day of work, Pete enjoyed having a cold beer or two, and laughing and exchanging stories and lies with friends at the local tavern. Time at the gambling machines was also part of the recreation and relaxation. Way back when, Pete had a dog, Tippy, that would show up at the bar, and there was a bowl that would be filled with beer for Tippy to share a beer with Pete and the boys. Later in life, Pete had a special pet, a black lab named Boozer, given to him as a pup by Deb and Jim Zinda. Boozer became an important companion in Pete’s life. Simple pleasures for a simple, hardworking, family man. Mentioned earlier was the fact that Pete and Winnie’s life journey together lasted over 67 years. More than husband and wife, more than parents and grandparents together, Pete and Winnie were business partners; they were friends. Deb remarked that it was apparent that Winnie was everything to Pete. Pete was a man from the generation where men and women had defined roles in the house and in the world. Pete was not very domestic, leaving much of the parenting and household duties to Winnie. He could fry potatoes, and he would do the heavy household chores like vacuuming or washing windows. Robert did term his father as a bit of “a clean freak.” Mostly Pete took care of his family and his life in ways traditional to a man’s place in the world. Pete was not very verbal in showing affection, but he showed it by the things he did, leading by example. He always worried about Winnie and took great pains to take care of her, even when his own health made it difficult. His greatest frustration in life was aging to where he couldn’t take care of Winnie, remember friends’ names or do those things he felt he should do or just wanted to do. Winnie, Robert, and Maureen feel that Pete would want to be remembered for his life in this community, for his support and recognition of the Wibaux kids and their accomplishments, and for his love of the Longhorn tradition and for the Wibaux community. For all of us, we will remember the Pete who was friendly, supportive, hardworking, caring of family, friends and community. We will remember the Pete who lived well, laughed often, loved much; the Pete who filled a niche, earned our respect and gave us his best. Thank you, Pete, for being a part of our lives.

Peter White

January 14, 1925 - May 3, 2012

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Peter White

January 14, 1925 - May 3, 2012

What We Do

Flowers & Gifts

Plan Ahead

About Us

Resources

Obituaries

Grief & Healing

Contact Information

365 Days of Grief Support