Raymond Laverne White was born October 12, 1925, to Claude and Verna Moss White. He was born on the Updyke Place 8 miles east and 2 miles south of Vici, OK. He was the 5th child out of 9 children. Raymond went to meet his Maker on Monday, May 13, 2019. He was 93 years, 6 months, and 13 days.
When Raymond was 1 year old, the family built a new house and moved to Vici. Raymond and his siblings were kept busy herding cattle, cutting wood, and unloading loads of coal at the railroad tracks. All of this work gave Raymond a variety of skills, and therefore, he became a Jack of all Trades. The family also would go to Washington and Colorado and pick peaches and bring them back to Vici. One trip turned tragic when Claude fell asleep and rolled the truck. Verna, Cecil, and Raymond were asleep on the peaches. Claude was able to dig Verna and Raymond out of the peaches in time, but Cecil was not so fortunate. This heartbreaking trip made a big impact on Raymond.
Raymond attended Vici Public School and graduated with the class of 1943. He was very proud of being a Vici Alumni, and he was also very proud that all four of his children and their spouses all graduated from Vici Schools. He attended the banquets and rode in the parades. He contributed money to both the Vici Alumni Association and Vici Educational foundation. His last ride in the parade was in 2018. Raymond and Pearl loved sports and attended all the Vici ballgames for many, many years. Raymond was also a big fan of his brother Sherill's team, OU, OSU, Dallas Cowboys, and Thunder.
On March 23, 1946, Raymond was drafted into the Army. He attended boot camp at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas, and then was stationed to Fort Sam Houston at San Antonio, Texas, where he served as a Corporal in the Military Police. This was to be a life changing event for Raymond. San Antonio is where Raymond met his "Pearl", the love of his life. Raymond and Pearl were married on May 12, 1947. Raymond was then discharged from the Army in September 22, 1947. He was awarded the World War II Victory Medal. The young couple then came to Vici, Ok, to establish their home. They had no means of transportation so they hitchhiked back to Oklahoma. Fortunately, they caught a ride all the way to Watonga. Then they thumbed the rest of their way to Vici.
Raymond's first job was helping his Uncle Leo Hale where he learned to do plumbing and a variety of other skills. Soon Raymond started White's Salvage to support his family. The entire family worked alongside him in this business. Later in 1958, Raymond and Pearl bought the Sutton Hotel in Vici, which they ran for many years. During this time they also bought the Scottish Inn and turned it into a small nursing home which they also managed. Raymond had a progressive mindset and was extremely interested in making his community a better place to live. While serving on the Vici Town Board as a board member and also as Mayor, Raymond was involved in many other town improvements such as building the Vici Nursing Home, building the sewer lagoons, and building the Vici Air Strip. Later he established the White Addition in 1969. Then in 1975, Raymond purchased the Grice place north of Vici, the Sinclair place west of town, and the Cox place south of town. He subdivided these into acreages of land and sold them, carrying the notes so that people could afford to buy a small parcel of land. This endeavor brought in several new people to the community and 32 new students for the Vici school. All of Raymond's community efforts were recognized by The Dewey County Historical Society in 2013.
On October 15, 1950, Pearl and Raymond were baptized into the faith. Raymond had a strong faith in the Lord and believed in supporting his church. He and Pearl spent countless times of staying with those who were sick and needed help. Then in the summer of 1955, Raymond and Pearl and their young family went to Naylor, Missouri, to help two young preachers preach the Gospel and establish a church. A new Church of the Firstborn was built that summer. Providing his fellow church people with support, both monetary and emotionally, was commonplace. Raymond loved gospel music and loved to sing. Because of this love, he worked at getting donations to purchase the first piano for his church.
Raymond also had a love of adventure and travel. As a young man he was known to hop a ride on a train just for the joy of seeing a new place. While his children were young, Raymond and Pearl would take off each summer for 3 weeks, traveling and camping in 46 of the 48 states (at that time). In later years Pearl and Raymond traveled to Europe, Puerto Rico, Mexico City, San Juan, Hawaii, and Alaska. They also bought a motor home and traveled many miles, going to church camp meetings and other places along the way.
Raymond and Pearl were blessed with four children, Leslie, Vera, Vayda, and Larry. They were also blessed with 10 grandchildren, and 30 great-grandchildren. Raymond had a love of children and would play with them just like he was one of them. He loved to take the grandchildren to the farm, take them on wagon rides, take them on trail rides, take them bike riding, and send them on treasure hunts in the junk yard. Well into his eighties, he would crawl around on the floor with the little great-grands.
Raymond is survived by his four children and their spouses; Dr. Leslie and Jerry White of Cushing, OK; Vera and Steve Burton of Newcastle, OK; Vayda and Joe Brown of Arapaho, OK; and Larry and Angela White of Vici, OK; his 10 grandchildren, Nikki and Preston Caulfield, Dr.Bret and Dr. Tamarra White, Dr. Brad and Mallory White, Shelley and Ryan Overholt, Stacie and Brent Bauman, Stefanie and Jeff Douglas, Sam and Olivia Brown, Laci and Jason Pool, Jason and Cinnamon White and Courtney and Rusty Menefee; 30 great-grandchildren, 1 brother and sister-in-law, Sherrill and Wanda White, 2 brothers-in-law, Elroy Dieringer, and Clarence Dieringer, and 1 sister-in-law, May Dieringer, one special chosen daughter, Kay Manues, many nieces, nephews, and friends.

Memorials may be made to the Vici Alumni Association in care of Shaw Funeral Home, P.O. Box 276, Vici, OK 73859.