Joseph William White

It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of our dad Joseph William White, also known to many as Joe, Joe Bill and Big Joe. On August 29, 2024 at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston Salem, N.C. surrounded by family we said our final goodbyes. Born on April 17, 1957 to the late Robert “Bob” and Helen White, he was the baby of four and wouldn’t hesitate to let people know it either. Born and raised in Pageton, WV he was the baby brother to Charlie, Mary Ann and Debbie. He also attended schools in McDowell County and was a proud Gary Coal Digger. His brother Charlie, who was the oldest of the four, was his best friend. They loved to go on their annual hunting trips to Pendleton County, WV as well as spend as much time as they could on any lake, stream or pond of water that they could find, and I do believe the two of them got into quite a bit of mischief over the years before Charlie’s passing. He also had two sisters, Mary Ann Thomas of Princeton, WV and Debbie Walker of Westerville, OH. Dad and Mary Ann always had a special bond and always took care of each other any way they could. Even at his bedside she let everybody know that was her baby. She was right by his side in his final moments and I know he was at such peace having her with him in those final moments. 

He also leaves behind and will be missed terribly by his two children. His daughter Heather Workman of Bluefield, Va and her husband Shade whom he had a very special bond with and loved like a son for the last 27 years, they loved to talk about hunting, fishing and everyday life and he was always our go to when we didn’t know how to do something. His son John White of Princeton, WV and wife Amber who he loved like a daughter. Although everyone knew he loved his kids, they knew he loved his grandkids even more and took such joy in spoiling them any way that he could. The bond that he had with his “Baby Girl” Kaelyn Workman of Bluefield, VA was one for the books. Those two couldn’t be left alone for very long because we never knew what kind of trouble they would get into. From fixing kitchen sinks to replacing toilets because she had put candle wax in it and flushed, to working on cars and replacing tail lights, you just never knew what they were up to. He loved going to her ball games to watch her cheer the sidelines from Little League to High School, he loved going to visit her at work, even if it was just to stop in long enough to catch up and give her the infamous Big Joe bear hug. They had big plans to go out on the town and sing karaoke together at a bar, unfortunately they were never able to fulfill those plans, which is probably a good thing. He was always so proud of Kaelyn and constantly bragged on her, for all of her accomplishments and what a hard worker she was. He also leaves behind two granddaughters Merci Stevens of TN and Reagan Carter of NC as well as two grandsons of Princeton, WV, Malik “his little buddy” and Zayn “his little wild man” he would tell everybody Zayn was wide open and he loved it. He also leaves behind several nieces and nephews who he absolutely adored and tormented over the years, they all loved their Uncle Joe Bill and holidays and visits home will never be the same. 

He also leaves behind and will be missed by his very special lady Lucy Propst of Salisbury, NC. He and Lucy had known each other for a very long time and worked together many moons ago and reconnected several years ago and have been by each other’s sides ever since. He loved her so much, even though she was a Democrat and she loved him just the same, even though he was a Republican. Her friends and family in NC welcomed him with open arms and it was such a wonderful feeling for us knowing that they loved him and we knew he was in good hands when he was down there visiting. Her daughter Wendy Lowe and husband Kelly of Salisbury, NC were always so good to him, they shared trips, holidays and family vacations with him and were also there with us at his bedside in his final moments. Of course in typical Joe fashion he loved them like family as well as Lucy’s grandsons and wives Jonathan and Heather Lowe, Cody Pertee and Bri all of Salisbury, NC and Jeremy Fortune and Tara of Montcalm, WV along with their children. He loved each of you so much and on behalf of our family we thank you all so much for loving our dad the way you did and thank you Wendy and Kelly for being there for each of us and by our side in his final moments.

To know Joe was to love him, he NEVER met a stranger, made friends everywhere he went and could and would strike up a conversation with just about anybody. Everybody that knew Joe White loved him, it was hard not to. He always had the best sense of humor, told the funniest jokes, loved to tell hunting and fishing stories and loved to make people laugh. He had many friends from all walks of life and always enjoyed spending time with them, especially his breakfast crew, his riding buddies, his Moose and karaoke crew and his hunting and fishing buddies. We hope each of you knows just how much every single one of you meant to him. Our dad was a big burly man, he wanted people to think he was a big ol’ tough guy, but I think we all know he was just a big ol’ burly teddy bear. He had a heart of gold, would give you the shirt off his back, the last piece of money he had in his pocket and it was that kindness and generosity that everybody loved. There was never a dull moment with him around, you never knew what he was going to do, what he was going to say or who he was going to pick on and you may or may not have been embarrassed by any of the above and he loved every minute of it. The amount of times he would embarrass us when we were younger. I know for a fact that he traumatized many of our friends with his lounging on the couch in his underwear all sprawled out like a big bear watching hunting and fishing shows (with his eyes closed and the volume full blast of course). After a while all of our friends coming in and seeing all 350 lbs of Big Joe in all his glory just adapted…we hope! To any of our friends that witnessed that, we apologize for that trauma. He and I just laughed about this exact thing just a few weeks ago and Lucy didn’t believe me, so I texted my best friend Amanda Potter who grew up in our home and has known him since 1986 and she in fact confirmed and we all just laughed and laughed about it. 

We will all miss his twisted humor and care free, laid back attitude and outlook on life. I will miss calling him and hearing him say “YELLOW” when he answered the phone and follow up with “whatcha know baby girl”. We will all miss picking on him about that darn bluetooth” that was a permanent fixture to his ear and his life line. We will all miss the infamous Joe White bear hugs, where your head and face would end up right in his armpit, if you know then you know! I think it is safe to say that there is a huge hole in a lot of people’s hearts and life will never be the same. However, with that being said my brother and I are so honored and proud of the fact that our sweet daddy was an organ donor and even though most of his organs weren’t all that great, we were given the opportunity to donate to HonorBridge, his corneas and retinas to help people to be able to see. I can hear him now saying “well hell I ain’t gonna need em”. In addition to the eyes they will also be able to utilize skin and tissue for burn victims and cancer patients. We felt that since he always wanted to help others, that in doing this even after his passing he will still be able to help others out. How crazy is it that somebody will be able to see the world through Joe White’s eyes. We all hope they are ready because they are about to be on the ride of a lifetime. 

We also have peace in knowing that he is now completely healed, reunited with his big brother Charlie, his sweet mom and dad as well as other family and friends he has lost over the years and that we will be able to see him again one day. There is also no doubt he is fishing on one of Heaven’s biggest lakes catching the biggest bass and telling all of his “it got away” stories.

John and I would like to express our deepest gratitude to everyone, for all the calls, texts, messages, visits and stories that you all have shared with us these last few days. It means so much to us knowing that you loved him just as much as we did.

In honoring his wishes, he will be cremated and we will be having a Celebration of Life on Wednesday, September 4, 2024 at Cravens-Shires Funerla Home in Bluewell, WV. Visitation will be held from 5pm-7pm with a memorial service following directly after with Brent Ferrell who will briefly speak and hopefully help us to say our final see you laters. During this time our family would love for anyone who has any speacial "Joe stories" to please stand up and share them with us. Not only will this help his family and friends to heal, but it will also remind us of all the good times we all shared with him and what a wonderful man he was. With that being said, he would never want this to be a sad or sappy occasion. He was a man who made the best out of life and was the FUN wherever he went! For this reason we know for certain he would not only want us to do the same in celebrating his life, but he would expect it!