FRANKLIN: Chris White

Chris White, 65, of Narragansett ,RI, formerly of Franklin, MA, passed away unexpectedly on November 1st.

He was the son of the late Paul and Joan White. Chris was lovingly raised in Walpole, MA, where he attended Walpole High School and Bishop Feehan High School and spent his boyhood summers in Westport, MA which held a special place in his heart for the rest of his life.

He graduated from UMass in 1984 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

After graduation he joined the family business PCS and later Market Reps, where he worked his way from Sales Rep to President of the Company. When the industry started to shift, Chris reinvented and rebranded Market Reps turning it into a successful telecommunications company. After an accomplished business career he was able to pursue other interests.

He was an avid and skilled boater and went back to school and received his Captain's License and Marine Engineer License both of which he was very proud. Chris captained the Alert II ferry for Cuttyhunk Boatlines and was the Lead Engineer for the Block Island Ferry. His third and final career was with the Town of Franklin, automating and revamping their solid waste program.

Chris was a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary and a 25+ years proud member of the Elks initially with the Franklin, MA Lodge and transferring to the South Kingstown, RI Lodge.

Chris was a natural-born engineer. From a very early age he was curious about the mechanical world, taking things apart and putting them back together. He was drawn to all types of vehicles, the faster the better, but cars were his true passion.

He was building, fixing, and restoring them before he even had a license to drive, a hobby he continued over the course of his life. Chris  could fix anything, and he took great joy in helping others.

Friends and relatives relied on his astute diagnostic skills and expert repairs and considered themselves lucky to visit “Whitey’s” garage. In fact he met the love of his life, Kathleen, when he fixed her stuck accelerator pedal, which, as it turned out, was the start of something that never slowed down, they were engaged within six months and married in 1985.

Chris and Kathleen raised their family in Franklin, where they lived for over 30 years.

Summers were spent in Narragansett and on the water, cruising on his boat, The Patsy, and along the shores of their beloved Narragansett Bay and Narrow River, before the couple eventually retired to Rhode Island.

In retirement they traveled to Australia, New Zealand, and Alaska and biked through Europe, but for Chris the highlight was exploring the U.S. in their motorhome, Big Blue, sightseeing, biking, and visiting family and friends. As much as he enjoyed traveling, he was happiest at home, either working on his latest project in the garage or soaking in the view of the Narrow River with a cigar and a cold beer.

Chris was an original, remembered for his dry and witty sense of humor, as a loving and supportive husband, a devoted dad, and a trusted friend.

He leaves his wife of 41 years, Kathleen; his three children: Chris Jr. and his wife Lauren, and their son, Chris White III, of Bellingham, MA; Devon of Glenburn, ME; and Patsy of Charleston, SC; his brother Paul and his wife Kristin of Long Beach, WA; his sister Susan of Weymouth, MA; his aunt, Eunice

Wheeler of Australia; and many sisters- and brothers-in-law, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.

Family and friends are invited to pay their respects during calling hours on Friday November 13th at the Ginley Funeral Home of Franklin, 131 Main Street, Franklin (ginleyfuneralhomes.com) from 4-6.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly asks that donations be made to the Franklin Elks, Lodge #2136 PO Box 447 Franklin MA 02038