Ryegate Corner, VT The Rev. Dr. Dwight A. White, 89, of South Bayley Hazen Road, Ryegate, died unexpectedly on Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at home in Ryegate Corner. He passed quickly and without suffering into the arms of his Lord and Savior on the family homestead after a rich and rewarding life. Dwight was born in Cottage Hospital Woodsville on February 7, 1926, son of the late William Dustin and Ethel (Taplin) White. He was the fifth born of six children who survived childhood, growing up on the family homestead in Ryegate Corner. Two of his brothers farmed locally in Ryegate, his oldest brother and two sisters went on to become educators in Vermont. Dwight attended elementary school at the local schoolhouse and then Woodsville High School where he graduated in the class of 1944. He then served in the U.S. Army with basic training at Camp Blanding, FL before deployment to Saipan and Japan where he served until 1946. After discharge he enrolled at Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA, the closest to Vermont of the few colleges affiliated with the United Presbyterian Church, where he graduated cum laude after three years with a major in history. He then pursued a Master of Theology degree at Pittsburgh Xenia Theological Seminary, graduating and then being ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1953. Later in life he earned a Doctorate of Ministry degree from Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, NJ and received an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Westminster College. While studying in Pennsylvania, he met Jean Dolores Shaffer, marrying her in May 1953 in her hometown of New Wilmington, PA. The two moved to San Francisco, CA where Dwight served as pastor of the Ingleside Presbyterian Church for five years. Their two children, William and Rebecca were born in San Francisco during this pastorate. Further ministries followed in Fresno, CA, and at Presbyterian churches in Liberty Corner and Newark NJ with one year spent in Indiana on special assignment for the church. During his active ministry Dwight served on numerous national church commissions and delegations, with his church work becoming even more extensive after retirement in 1991 to the family homestead in Ryegate. His service to the church included active service on the National General Assembly Council of the Presbyterian Church and an assignment on the Worldwide Ministry Council that included visits to mission projects and councils in Armenia and Zimbabwe. The presence of a large Armenian community in Fresno along with work for the Ministry Council led to a role on the board of the Jinishian Memorial Committee. Dwight also served local congregations as interim pastor and/or guest preacher in Barnet, Ryegate, Topsham as well as at numerous other churches in Vermont and New Hampshire. He has served many years as President of the Reformed Presbyterian Society of the Walter Harvey Meeting House in Mosquitoville (Ryegate), as chaplain of the St Andrews Society of Vermont and of VFW Post 5245 in North Haverhill. Most recently he has been serving as Moderator of the Session of the Topsham United Presbyterian Church at that church moderating the annual congregational meeting in February. As important as the church was in the life of Dwight, he also served in many community roles during his ministries and in retirement including as President of the Somerset County (NJ) Mental Health Association, as President of the Woodsville/Wells River Rotary Club, for many years as the Ryegate Santa delivering Christmas parcels to families in need, as a member of the board of Cottage Hospital in Woodsville, as Justice of the Peace and as a member of the Ryegate Board of Civil Authority. He chaired the committee that in the 1990s assigned official names for the first time to all of the roads in Ryegate as part of the establishment of the 911 emergency response system. A special focus in retirement was the continuation of a long-standing White family interest in the history of the Scottish-founded town of Ryegate. His efforts here included serving since his return to Vermont as secretary/treasurer of the Ryegate Historical Society including a role in the restoration of the Whitelaw Hall, the former Presbyterian Church and now home of the Historical Society. Dwight wrote the preface to the 2002 reprinting of the History of Ryegate VT 1774-1912 and wrote himself an update to this work which was published by the Town of Ryegate in 2006: The Down of the Thistle, 20th Century Ryegate, VT. Indeed, in his various pastorates away from Vermont, Dwight often referred to his home town of Ryegate as an inspiration, drawing faith from his upbringing there and illustrating sermons with examples taken from his home, upbringing and surroundings. Survivors include his wife of nearly 62 years, Jean Shaffer White of Ryegate, son William (Bill) of Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Belgium, daughter Rebecca (Becky) of Seeley Lake, MT and grandchildren Ezra Dustin White, Phoebe Lenore White and Deirdre Esther White, all of Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Belgium. His siblings have all pre-deceased him but other surviving family members include brother- and sister-in-law Alvin and Beverly Shaffer of Shelton, CT and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins in Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Washington states. Calling hours will be held on Thursday, March 19, from 6 until 8 PM at Ricker Funeral Home, 1 Birch Street, Woodsville, NH. Services will be held at the Ryegate Presbyterian Church in Ryegate Corner on Friday, March 20 at 1 PM, officiated by Carol Ann Barker. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Ryegate Presbyterian Church, c/o Jeff Fraser, Treasurer, 3213 Ryegate Road, East Ryegate, VT 05042, to the Ryegate Historical Society, c/o Florence Ford, 3158 North Bayley Hazen Road, East Ryegate, VT 05042 or to the Dr. Harry Rowe Medical Arts Building Fund, c/o Cottage Hospital Community Relations Department, 90 Swiftwater Road, Woodsville, NH 03785.