Seventy-three years ago on December 12, 1943, James and Willa White became the parents of their ninth child. They named him Jerry Banfield White. Banfield was a name Jerry always disliked but since it was his uncle's name on his mother's side, he was stuck with it. Jerry lived with his family in Muskogee, OK all through childhood. He graduated from Muskogee High School in 1961. Immediately after graduating from high school, he joined the Air Force and served his country as an airplane mechanic during the Met Nam war where he was stationed in Cambodia.

After being honorably discharged from the service, he returned home and attended Northeastern University where he earned his Bachelor's Degree in Marketing and Psychology. He had just started working for Bridon American Cooperation when he met the love of his life, Linda French.

Jerry was a man of many qualities. One of which was charming. When he and Linda met at a club it was love at first sight. Linda had gone to the club with a girl friend and Jerry was there with his friend. The "friends" hit it off leaving Jerry and Linda to themselves. They sat and talked until the club closed, then went to an all night restaurant and talked the rest of the night. Three months later they drove to Sherman, Texas and got married. When they got home Jerry went to his house and Linda went to hers. They kept their marriage secret for two weeks. Finally Jerry told his mother who was very happy about the marriage. For three months they continued living separately with their respective families. On December 7, 1978 they bought their house in Broken Arrow where they continued living until this day.

Another quality Jerry possessed was kindness although he tried to keep this one hidden. When Jerry discovered that their dog Gretchen had died, he wanted to spare Linda the heartbreak, so he called the pet cemetery to have her removed before Linda came home from work. She was buried at the pet cemetery. The most enduring kindness was his love for his mother. The reason Jerry and Linda lived separately was because Jerry's mother was terminally ill and Jerry would not leave her.

Another quality was that he never wanted to disappoint his parents. As a child Jerry was no stranger to poverty. His father would give him one bullet and tell him to bring something back for supper. He proudly returned home with a rabbit, squirrel, or duck to cook for supper.

In addition to his good looks, Jerry was also known for his physical strength. When he was angry, he had the ability to move mountains. One time the lawn mower wouldn't start, so he picked it up and threw it across the yard. The lawn mower still wouldn't start, but Jerry felt better. On the day Jerry had to work on something, Linda's boys and some of their friends would gather around the table to listen and laugh as Jerry expressed himself in his own language. He had the most extensive vocabulary of cuss words that no one could match.

After Jerry retired from Bridon America he started his own lawn mower repair business. He became known as the "lawn mower man. " He worked his business for 18 years until he became ill. He gradually retired and spent the last two years suffering from kidney failure, diabetes, and severe back and neck pain. Linda faithfully took care of him meeting his every need for two years until she could no longer give him the care he required. He went to St. Francis Hospital then The Post Acute Specialty Hospital. During his stay there, Linda, Tim, and Eletha read scripture and prayed over Jerry. Jerry later admitted he knew they had prayed for him and he was grateful.
A short time later he went to live at Coweta Nursing Home. Jerry always asked for prayer before his visitors left. A short time later Chaplain John and Ronnie had the privilege of leading him to total repentance and acceptance of Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior- A few days later he was transferred to the Veterans' Hospital in Claremore where he died two weeks later.

Viewing all day 10AM-8PM, Tuesday, September 5, 2017 at Moore's Southlawn, 9350 E. 51st, Tulsa, OK. Funeral service will be 2:00 P.M., Wednesday, September 6, 2017 at Moore's Southlawn Chapel. Moore's Southlawn 918-663-2233