Lawrence D White

Lawrence Duane White, 91, 2627 E. 2850th St., LaPrairie, Illinois passed away Wednesday, January 29, 2025 at the Golden Good Shepherd Home in Golden Illinois.

Lawrence was born on February 15, 1933, the son of Carl and Jessie Musick White. He graduated from Augusta High School in 1951 and attended the Elm Grove United Methodist Church. Lawrence never married. He was a lifetime crop and livestock farmer while taking care of his parents on the farm where he was raised.

Lawrence was the youngest of six children. Siblings included Inez (Julius “Shorty”) Koehler of Quincy, Wayne (Clara) White of LaPrairie/Golden, Mary (Chester) Anderson of Rockford, Forest (Mildred) White of LaPrairie/Carthage and Arnold who died in infancy.

Lawrence was a good friend and neighbor to many farmers and their families often bringing them fresh vegetables from his garden and eggs from the chicken house. In later years, he would even bake an apple pie and take it down the road to a neighbor. For many years Lawrence had a small orchard with apple, pear and peach trees giving most of the fruit to relatives and neighbors. While his health remained good, Lawrence could be found working with machinery to keep it running for as long as possible. He maintained a large yard and many fencerows. He loved having his dog next to him as he settled in his old tin lawn chair after a long day’s work. On weekends, Lawrence looked forward to seeing his nieces and nephews visit him for Sunday dinners and then sitting outside to visit with family members. Many stories were told and many laughs could be heard as family members rested from the week’s work. Lawrence was strict about not working on Sunday and not allowing others to work beyond the daily chores. “Sunday was “the Lord’s Day”, he would say. Lawrence often referred to the Bible and followed it daily.

Lawrence enjoyed having his 14 nieces and nephews who came to visit him. Keeping up with them as they grew up was his passion. He would watch them run and play, listen to their stories, laugh with them, and then study what they did in life as they grew older. It was as if they were his own.

Lawrence is survived by six nieces, Karen Bartlett of Springfield, IL, Nancy (Anderson) Johnson of Rockford, IL, Natalie Willis of Tulsa, OK, Shirley Jean Kelly of Huntsville, Arlis Dejaynes of Golden and Diana Alexander of Quincy. Surviving, too, are nephews Keith White of Augusta, John White of Baylis and Robert (Bob) White of Versailles, KY. Lawrence was preceded in death by Kenneth Leon White, David White, Claire White, Sandra Kendrick, David White, and James (Jim) White. A funeral service led by Pastor Dixie Croxton will be held at the Hamilton Funeral Home in Augusta, IL on Friday morning, January 31 with visitation at 10 AM followed by a service at 11 AM. Burial will be at the Mt. Horeb Cemetery. Pallbearers for Lawrence D. White are: Bryan Bruns, Jay Ihnen, Joe Paben, Matt Dearwester, Dana Buss and Charles Schrader.

Any expression of sympathy in memory of Lawrence White can be made to the Mt. Horeb Cemetery Fund.

The Hamilton Funeral Home in Augusta, IL is handling arrangements.