The Rev. H. Walter White, 81, of 434 Old Sharon Road, Lackawannock Township, Mercer, died at 4:45 p.m. Saturday at Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh after a three-month illness.

Born July 22, 1928, in Mercer, he was the son of Hugh William White and Mildred E. Nothstine.

He was born and raised west of Mercer at the bottom of Hell's Hollow. He went to 10 grades in Mercer High School. He graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School in Hickory, Washington County. In 1950, he graduated from Penn State with a bachelors in agriculture. He graduated in 1954 from Pittsburgh Xenia Theological Seminary.

He was ordained at the Cross Roads United Presbyterian Church in Washington, Pa. He served there from 1952 to 1956. He served the Oakdale and Pickneyville United Presbyterian churches from 1956 to 1964. He then served at the West Sunbury and Pleasant Valley United Presbyterian churches from 1964 to 1975.

He served the Volant and Harlansburg churches from 1975 to 1984. He served the New Florence and West Fairfield churches from 1984 to 1988. He was the interim minister at Hillside, Greenville, in 1989. And he served the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church from 1989 to 1994. He retired June 30, 1994.

Since then, he supplied pulpits for the Shenango Presbytery.

He was moderator of the Southern Illinois Presbytery in 1964.

He was the stated clerk of the Shenango Presbytery from 1979 to 1982.

He was a very faithful volunteer of Salvation Army and very active with the Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry. He loved gardening, reading and music.

He is survived by his wife, Belva Cowden, who he married June 20, 1950; three daughters, Barbara, the wife of Robert Rorabaugh of Burnside, Nancy White of Mercer, and Kathleen Cowden of Cherry Tree, Pa.; three sons, Hugh White and his wife, Becky, of Ft. Wayne, Ind., Mark White of Mercer and Brian White at home; a sister, Dottie, the wife of the Rev. Donald Dawson of San Antonio, Texas; a brother, Richard White and his wife, Leslie, of Pendleton, S.C.; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and two sisters, Martha Stevens and Louise Angliss.

<B>WHITE</B> — Friends of the Rev. H. Walter White, who died Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009, will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at <B>Cunningham Funeral Home,</B> 144 S. Pitt St., Mercer. Visitation also will be from 10 to 10:45 a.m. Thursday at the Bethany Presbyterian Church, 100 Venango St., Mercer, where the funeral service will be at 11 a.m. that day with the Rev. James Leuenberger, pastor, officiating.Burial will be in Hillcrest Memorial Park, Hermitage.Memorial contributions may be made to Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry or Mercer Salvation Army, c/o Bethany Presbyterian Church, 100 Venango St., Mercer, PA 16137.