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Happy White (Johnny's Mom) has passed. (Dan H.)

DanHolohan
DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,585
in THE MAIN WALL
He lost his mother and best friend, Happy White, tonight. She was a great lady. She told wonderful stories. She was instrumental in the building of our industry, and she gave jobs to many Americans over many years. She never gave up on anyone, and she was loved.

I wrote this story about her a few years ago and she liked it a lot. A great, great lady.

<a href="http://www.heatinghelp.com/newsletter.cfm?Id=231"target="_blank">An American Love Story</a>

Johnny, I'm sorry for your loss, and our loss. She was so proud of you.
Retired and loving it.
«1

Comments

  • Justin Topel
    Justin Topel Member Posts: 65
    So Sorry To For Your Loss

    I read Dan's letter a few months ago and it really touched me. I tried to imagine myself there listening to her speak. The smile on her face, the joy in her speech, and the love in her heart for those around her. That must have been such a joy to work with her, laugh with her, and to receive the infectious compassion that she gave out. I will keep you in my prayers as you cope with such a great loss.
    God Bless.

    Mister T
  • Robert O'Brien
    Robert O'Brien Member Posts: 3,556
    Very Sorry

    to hear to hear this.
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  • Wayco Wayne_2
    Wayco Wayne_2 Member Posts: 2,479
    Very sorry

    to hear that. My condolences to Mr White and his family. WW

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  • Cam_2
    Cam_2 Member Posts: 36
    My condolensces Mr. White

    Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, Love leaves a memory no one can steal...

    Rick
  • jackchips_2
    jackchips_2 Member Posts: 1,337
    Dear Johnny,

    I'm sure Mrs. White is holding court in Heaven already and my Mom and Dad are in the front row.

    My condolences to the entire White family.

    Jack
  • Paul Rohrs_4
    Paul Rohrs_4 Member Posts: 466
    Sorry for your loss

    Our sincerest condolences. Our prayers are offered up for you and your family in this time of grieving.

    Paul
  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 22,830
    Sorry Johnny

    sounds like your folks had a full and fun life They left behind a great family and legacy.

    hr
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
  • Darin Cook_9
    Darin Cook_9 Member Posts: 45
    My Condolences

    I am very sorry for your loss Johnny. I really enjoyed the article that Dan had written on your family. My prayers will be with your family.

    Darin
  • tim smith
    tim smith Member Posts: 2,800
    Mr, White, please accept my condolences. I remember reading

    Dan's article about an american love story and it moved me. Your father and mother were very special people it seems and you must feel lucky to have had them in your life. They built a solid company for you and all the employees to enjoy for generations, and it seems that you are continuing to carry the torch. I think the world is a better place to have had them in it. Tim Smith
  • Mark Eatherton
    Mark Eatherton Member Posts: 5,852
    Our condolences to the WHite family...

    and all who she touched.

    ME,LE

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  • Gary Jansen_4
    Gary Jansen_4 Member Posts: 77
    Our thoughts and prayers are with you

    May she rest in peace for all eternity. My wife and I loved reading the stories. A remarkable woman. Again, our thoughts and prayers are for her and with you.
    Gary and Lauren Jansen
  • John@Reliable_20
    John@Reliable_20 Member Posts: 5
    So sorry Johnny,

    My condolences to the entire White family
    John@Reliable
  • lee_7
    lee_7 Member Posts: 457


    Johnny,

    So sorry for your loss. Will keep your family in our prayers.

    Lee Morano and family
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    John to you and your

    my prayers and thoughts on the loss of a great lady. I met your Mom once many years ago in a fish and chip place on Gansett Ave. I heard her mention her name to someone and I was working for the gas company at the time. The person mentioned Taco and my ears perked up, I introduced my self to your Mom and told her I used a lot of Taco Zone Valves on my job and I thanked her for being a part of what RI stands for. She was so gracious and spent a good ten minutes talking to me about your company. I was greatly impressed with her and have long watched from a distance your family and its influence here in Rhode Island. She will be greatly missed.
  • Bob Flanagan_3
    Bob Flanagan_3 Member Posts: 67
    Deepest Sympathy From Slant/Fin

    John: From all of us at Slant/Fin, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

    Bob Flanagan
    Slant/Fin Corp.

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  • Mark Hunt_6
    Mark Hunt_6 Member Posts: 147
    My deepest sympathies


    I am very sorry to hear of John's loss.

    The White family will be in my prayers.

    Mark H
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,585
    A story.

    After I wrote that article about the Whites, Johnny told me that Happy liked it a lot, and that she kept a copy of it next to her chair. I asked if Marianne and I could come up to visit with her and he arranged it. We went for tea.

    What I remember was that she was so wonderfully gracious. It was a real tea party, and even though her sight and hearing weren't what they once were, she remembered so much. I contrast her with my own Mom, who no longer knows who I am. Memory is such a blessing.

    Happy was a painter, and she gave me a signed watercolor of some fruit, which I have in my office, and which I treasure. She signed it, "Happy." That's how it makes me feel when I look at it. She could barely see when she painted this, but it's beautiful. I think she painted from memory.

    Her father was a famous mural artist and he worked on the 1939 World Fair in New York City. Happy helped him. She told me the story about how the Painters Union was upset because her father was working at the Fair and he wasn't a union member, so he joined.

    She laughed the most wonderful little laugh when she told me that story, and I'm thinking about that today.

    She was a great lady.
    Retired and loving it.
  • Heather_5
    Heather_5 Member Posts: 39
    An Amazing Mother

    is an absolutely beautiful gift. My condolences and sympathy for your loss. I'm very glad, though, that you had so many years of love and friendship and I know that she'll live on in you and the people that are speaking so highly of her.
  • JK_3
    JK_3 Member Posts: 240
    A great Loss

    Jonny, the entire industry and all of R.I. will mourn your loss.During this holiday of the rising of Christ , you and you're family will be in the prayers of my family and myself.

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  • Mad Dog_2
    Mad Dog_2 Member Posts: 7,399
    Oh My GOD I just saw this

    God Rest your soul, Mrs White....you're with your husband now. Mad Dog

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  • Mad Dog_2
    Mad Dog_2 Member Posts: 7,399
    Arrangements?????

    Mad Dog

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  • Rocky
    Rocky Member Posts: 121
    Sincerest Condolences to the White Family

    A staggering loss, and a tremendous void. I did not personally know Happy, but judging by the kind words written here, it was my loss. However, I feel I have some knowledge of her values and priorities based on what is important to her son, John. These values and priorities are evident in the way John and Taco treat their employees and business partners, how they treat them like family. That type of personal and corporate philosophy doesn't come from thin air; it was learned early in life, undoubtably taught by John's mom and dad. A favorite passage of mine about mothers comes from Proverbs 31: 25-31
    "She is clothed with strength and dignity,
    and she laughs without fear of the future.
    When she speaks, her words are wise,
    and she gives instructions with kindness.
    She carefully watches everything in her household
    and suffers nothing from laziness.
    Her children rise and call her blessed,
    and her husband praises her...
    ..Reward her for all she has done.
    Let her deeds publicly declare her praise."

    So sorry for your loss,
    God bless and God speed, Happy.

    Rocky

  • Unknown
    Unknown
    My condolences...

    Losing a loved one never gets easier.
  • Steven Gronski
    Steven Gronski Member Posts: 98
    CALLING HOURS ARE.......

    4:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Tuesday April 14th at St Johns church in Barrington RI, with the funeral being at 10:00 AM the next day for any one interested in attending.... just thought I would pass this on to everyone even though it hasnt been published in the paper yet.

    Steve
  • John Vastyan
    John Vastyan Member Posts: 14
    Happy White

    Sorry for your loss, Johnny. I lost my mother 12 years ago and her many gifts to us, her children and others, are as real and as present as they were when she lived. I'm sure you'll find it that way, too. Blessing to you at this time. - jv

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  • Steven Gronski
    Steven Gronski Member Posts: 98
    So Sorry for your loss John....

    If the world had more Happy Whites that created wonderful people like her children, It would probably be like living in heaven, a harmonius world full of love , joy and equality where everyone would get along......She will be missed but her legacy will be carried on in her children which I am sure she is looking down from heaven right now proudly knowing she did well...........
  • Alan R. Mercurio_3
    Alan R. Mercurio_3 Member Posts: 1,624


    John, please accept my condolences. You and your family are in my prayers.

    Your friend in the industry,
    Alan R. Mercurio

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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Happy

    Everyone,
    I'm sorry to have taken so long...been a bit distracted.
    Happy was in fact my best friend, and a great source of support for me. She was as gracious in her passing as she was in her life. She loved this company and this industry. And she deeply missed John White Sr. She is in a better place now.
    I just want you to know how truly wonderful your thoughts and comments have been to read. You have been a tremendous source of strength to me, as you are to each other every day in this forum.
    Thank you so much. God bless.
    Johnny
  • klaus
    klaus Member Posts: 183
    I'm so sorry

    to hear of your loss Johnny. I've heard it said when our loved ones leave us their pain is passed on for those of us left behind. I've always found comfort knowing they're no longer bearing the worldly pains themselves.

    I'm sure your mothers in a better place and will always be smiling down upon you.

    God bless, Rich L
  • Dave Yates (GrandPAH)_12
    Dave Yates (GrandPAH)_12 Member Posts: 15
    Memories

    Johnny & family,

    Our condolences on the passing of your Mom. I was always struck by her name - Happy - and, although we'd never met, I felt as if I knew her through you - and Dan's writing. You are a remarkable testiment to your parents' character. The lagacy of John & Happy lives on in you and your family. The torch has passed and the memories will grow stonger and fonder with time. You & yours will be in our thoughts and prayers.

    Dave & Lois Yates
  • Mark Custis
    Mark Custis Member Posts: 537
    I know not

    The Whites, any loss is great.

    I find my heart and soul tending the family.

    MAC
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Sorry

    to here about your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with your family and friends.
  • Bill Herhold
    Bill Herhold Member Posts: 2
    Mrs. Happy White

    As we stride through life we are occasionally blessed to make contact with a few people that will have a profound impact on our lives. Happy & John White Sr. were two of those people who, by their sheer presence significantly impacted people's lives along the way.
    Happy & John White Sr. created a wonderful and significant company and have done considerable to enrich the lives of literally hundreds of Rhode Islanders as well as those beyond its borders.
    The passing of Mrs. Happy White has left a significant void both on earth and in our hearts. Many of us at Taco, Inc. have been touched by her warmth, her smile, her graciousness and keen insight into people. She will be remembered for her interminable passion for her family, the company, all things that are good and a love of life.
    To the White family, please accept our deepest sympathy for the loss of such a wonderful lady but at the same time allow us to share with you the honor of knowing Happy White for many years.
    To Johnny White, when you miss your mother the most look within yourself and you will recognize much of who she was, a truly outstanding and wonderful person.
    Bill & Carol Herhold
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    I am

    so sorry for your loss John . And your family . Happy sounded like a wonderful person .
  • Paul Fredricks_9
    Paul Fredricks_9 Member Posts: 315
    Condolences

    Sorry for your loss, John. I know to well the loss of those that helped shape who we are. Feel good that you made her proud.
  • J.C.A._3
    J.C.A._3 Member Posts: 2,980
    John,

    Please except my sincere condolences for your loss.

    I never got to meet Happy...but listening to you tell the stories, makes me think it will be a great loss to you.

    Keep the stories, and tell them often. You'll feel good and know that she's smiling and giggling with you, as you do.

    Chris/JCA
  • Mac_4
    Mac_4 Member Posts: 6
    Mrs Happy White

    JW

    Your mothers presence on earth made it a better place and her passing leaves sadness and joy. Sadness for those left behind and joy for those who are waiting for her.

    Please accept Colleen and my sincere condolences.

    Mac
  • TGO_54
    TGO_54 Member Posts: 327
    Johnny and the White Family

    Please accept my sincere condolences on the loss of Happy. I never had the privilege of meeting her, but I know your family and the industry have suffered a huge loss.

    Tom


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  • Marty_7
    Marty_7 Member Posts: 30


    Johnny,

    So sorry for your loss. You and your family will be in our prayers. Sounds like Happy was a wonderful woman.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    I went to the wake

    at around 4PM the line was out the door and starting to form outside. It was a joy to see John with a smile on his face. It is a celebration when a wonderful person passes over to the other side. I am sure heaven will certainly welcome "Happy". That happiness was reflected in every face in the line of relatives at the wake.
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