Thomas S White

Thomas S. White, son of Orlan and Laura White, was born in Afton, Wyoming on the 7^th of September 1945, the youngest of ten children. As a child, he attended a four-room elementary school in Thayne, Wyoming and graduated in 1964 from Star Valley High School in Afton, Wyoming.

Following high school, he attended Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho while he prepared to serve a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). He was called to serve in the Eastern States Mission under Mission President Boyd K. Packer, sharing the gospel from Vermont to Boston.

Upon completion of his mission, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1969, serving in Texas, San Francisco, Mountain Home, and Okinawa, Japan before his enlistment was completed in 1972. While stationed at Mountain Home Air Base, he became active in the Boise LDS Institute and choir. That’s where he met Anne Marie Larson, whom he married in 1973 in the Provo LDS Temple.

While serving in the military, he also attended school part-time and would eventually take courses from Brigham Young University and Boise State College completing a bachelor's degree and 5th-year certificate in Elementary Education. He taught third grade and kindergarten in Shelley, Idaho.

He raised a variety of small animals and livestock, routinely serving as a temporary home for countless rescue animals over the years.

Vocal music was always his passion, and he was frequently called to use his talents to bless church meetings, funerals, and community events across the region. His favorite church calling was when he served as the director of the Idaho Falls Institute Choir.

Thomas and Anne Marie were blessed with five children Orlan (Cynthia), Troy (Caiti), Melinda (David Chaffee), Lisa (Scott Clegg), and Monique (Aaron Marshall). They are grandparents of 21 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.

Thomas was preceded in death by two grandsons: Jared Orlan White and Theodore Clegg, both his parents and six of his nine siblings. He is survived by three siblings- Leland S. White, Oletta Hunter, and Phylis Bendixsen. His parents, Orlan and Laura, and seven siblings preceded him in death- Verla Warren, RV White, Deola Warren, Alma White, Phillip White, and AmyLou Sellers.

Thomas will be interred at the Thayne Wyoming Cemetery in a plot overlooking his childhood home.

“I am sure glad that I have an understanding of the gospel it would have been almost impossible for me to stay here (on his mission) if I had not known that someday I will see dad again in the life hereafter” ~Thomas S. White Feb. 20, 1967

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M. Thursday, June 29, 2023 at Nalder Funeral Home, 110 W Oak Street, in Shelley. The family will receive friends Thursday morning from 9:30 till 10:45 A.M. at the funeral home. Burial will be at 3:30 P.M. in the Thayne, Wyoming Cemetery with Military Rites.

Those who would like to participate in the funeral service remotely are invited to view the service on a live broadcast on the Nalder Funeral Home Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057261587524

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