Walter E. White

Walter Edward White passed away in the early morning hours of Jan. 7, 2014 at Fountain View Village in Fountain Hills with his daughter Cathy by his side.

“Ed” was born Dec. 23, 1932 in Tippecanoe Township, Henry County, Iowa. After growing up on the family farm, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1952 and began a journey that led him to meet the love of his life in Nice, France.

In storybook fashion, the Iowa farm boy meets beautiful French femme fatale, sweeps her off her feet, brings her to America and the rest is history. Ed married Michele Arabo of Nice, France in Rome, Iowa in 1957, and they remained devoted to each other until his death more than 56 years later.

Ed was a career Navy man and was initiated as a chief petty officer before he became a mustang, coming out of the enlisted ranks to be commissioned as a U.S. Naval officer, an ensign, in July 1961.

He served aboard two aircraft carriers, USS Forrestal and USS Constellation among other warships, and was an advisor to the Vietnamese Navy in 1970.

Ed retired from the Navy as a commander in 1980, and worked in the defense industry until he fully retired in 1997. Ed is survived by his wife Michele, currently residing at Fountain View Village; his son, Patrick (Mindy) White of San Diego; daughter Cathy (Mike) Rollins of Fountain Hills; and five grandchildren.

The oldest, Michele Rollins, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy in 2008. You can imagine that Ed popped a button or two on his jacket on that day.

Ed is also survived by his grandson, Harry Rollins of Tempe; granddaughter, Courtney White of San Diego; and grandsons, Alex and Chris Siefert, also of San Diego.

A memorial service with full military honors is planned for Feb. 10 at the Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego, Calif. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Wounded Warrior Project are preferred.