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1925 Thomas 2020

Thomas White

August 16, 1925 — August 3, 2020

Greenbelt, MD

Thomas Edward White, a retired federal official, of Greenbelt, Maryland, departed his life on August 3, 2020 at 7:55 pm. Dr. White was born in Donora, Pennsylvania and moved to Greenbelt in 1965. He was one of 10 children born to Fletcher and Elizabeth White. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in France and Germany.

He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1949, receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Economics. He received a Master's degree in Economics from American University in 1951. In 1959, he received a doctorate degree in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh.  He received a Master's degree in Public Administration from the American University in 1967-1968 and a Master's degree from the University of Maryland in Technology Management in 2010.

Dr. White began teaching at Hampton Institute in 1954 as an Assistant Professor of Economics. During his teaching career, he taught at Shaw University, Georgetown University, and at the University of Maryland. He served as a research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research and at Columbia University in 1960-1961 and held an internship at the Harvard Business School.

He began his government career with the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1949 working on the 1950 Census and joined the U.S. Department of Labor as a Labor Economist in 1961; later transferring to the U.S. Unemployment Insurance Service.  This was followed by employment with the North American Aviation Company and the General Electric Company (TEMPO) working on private sector transfers of DOD management technology and research on the feasibility of establishing an all-volunteer armed force.

Dr. White resumed his federal career in 1972, joining the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, serving in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health as a Health Economist; working on a national health insurance initiative advocated by President Nixon and a user charges system for the Food and Drug Administration. He served on assignment to the District of Columbia working on a congressional mandate to improve management of the Department of Human Resources in the city government. He served for over 20 years as the Executive Secretary of the Board of Correction of PHS Commissioned Corps Records; an appeal board for PHS Commissioned Corps officers. He retired in 2002 after 38 years of federal service and 10 years in the private sector. Following retirement, at age 83, Dr. White returned to UMD, earning a Master’s in Technology Management.

He was a member of the University of Maryland chapter of the Honor society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest all-discipline honor society, founded in 1897. Alumni of the society include former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Dr. White was an avid ball-room dancer, competing many years in Arthur Murray dance competitions and winning gold-level awards.

Survivors include wife Alice Cobb, son Gregory, daughter-in-law Joyce, daughters Sharin and Carole, and five grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. His survivors also include brother Colonel Richard White, and sisters Loretta Johns and Yvonne Dewitt and other friends and relatives.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, August 16th, 2020 at 11 a.m at Gasch’s Funeral Home, P.A. located at 4739 Baltimore Avenue, Hyattsville, MD 20781. Funeral services will follow at 12 noon.

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Visitation

Sunday, August 16, 2020

11:00am - 12:00 pm (Eastern time)

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Sunday, August 16, 2020

Starts at 4:00 pm (Eastern time)

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