Donnen Ray White

Donnen Ray White, 91, a resident of Bowie, died on December 17th, at the Washington DC VA Medical Center. Born January 3, 1922 in Butler County, Missouri to Ollie and Lula White. Mr. White was a child of the depression and was forced to leave his family as a young teen to live as a farm hand on another farm. During World War II Mr. White joined the United States Army and fought in Northern Africa and Italy. In September of 1944 while fighting the Germans in the mountains near Bologna, Italy Mr. White was wounded by shelling and captured by the German army. Mr. White spent the remainder of the war as a Prisoner of War at prisoner of war camp Stalag VII near Moosburg, Germany. The camp was liberated by the US Army in 1945 and Mr. White returned home to Missouri and quickly moved on to California where he spent his remaining working life as a Truck Driver. After retiring, Mr. and Mrs. White returned to his hometown of Poplar Bluff, Missouri where they remained until 2000 when they moved to Bowie to be closer to Mrs. White's family. Mr. White volunteered thousands of hours at various VA Hospitals during his lifetime helping veterans in the hospital and transporting patients back and forth for appointments. Mr. White was a daily visitor at the local Target department store in Bowie as well as the Senior Center where he volunteered for the Meals on Wheels program. He was honored to perform several ribbon cutting ceremonies for Target and was also an honored Veteran during many Annual Memorial Day Parades. Mr. White enjoyed the community and was proud to be an active citizen of the City of Bowie. After his wife's death, Mr. White continued to live and participate in community activities until September of 2012 when his declining health forced him to move to the Community Living Center at the Washington DC VA Medical Center where he lived until the time of his death. Mr. White is survived by his son John White of California and three brothers, also of California. Mr. White will be interred in Arlington National Cemetery at a time to be determined.