Deacon Mark Fleming White Sr., 93, of Olive Branch, Miss., entered eternal life on Nov. 17.
As a deacon of the Diocese of Knoxville, he served at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Fairfield Glade.
Deacon White was born in Woodside, Long Island, N.Y., in 1932 to James and Ismay White. He grew up in Yonkers, N.Y., attending Public School 23 and Barnard High School, and he graduated from New York University in 1954.
He met his wife of 69 years, Eileen, while she attended Hunter College in New York.
The U.S. Army drafted Deacon White two weeks after his college graduation. After he served a year in the Army, Deacon and Mrs. White were married on July 2, 1955. After he was honorably discharged, they moved to Baltimore, where they began a family.
Deacon White was called to enter the study program for the permanent diaconate and was ordained on Nov. 10, 1974. His ministry included being at the altar, preaching, bringing Communion to the sick, and other diaconal duties. He worked with battered women for four years and was in prison ministry for 46 years, which during that time he worked with men on death row in Nashville.
He celebrated 50 years of ordination on Nov. 10, 2024, at Queen of Peace Church in Olive Branch.
Deacon White was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Eileen Agnes (Magee) White, his brother, James C. White, and his daughter, Alyson White Hazelton.
He is survived by his sons, Mark Jr. (Clarita) of Grand Blanc, Mich., Brian (Donna) of Parsons, Tenn., Paul (Michelle) of Olive Branch, and David (Lihong) of Clarkston, Mich. His surviving grandchildren are Andrew (Rebekah), Alexander (Shara), Nicholas, Benjamin (Jeff), Kaylee, Brendan, and Ismay. His surviving great-grandchildren are Lydia, Ruby, Theodore, and Sullivan.
Since Deacon and Mrs. White’s trip to Africa in 2013, they encouraged the education of children at Our Lady of Nazareth School in Nairobi, Kenya, through their continuous contributions and correspondence with the children. Please consider supporting the Partnership with the Poor program of the Marianist missions (www.marianist.com/oln) in Dayton, Ohio, in memory of Deacon and Mrs. White.
A funeral Mass for Deacon White was celebrated on Dec. 1 at Queen of Peace Church.