George M. White OMI

Rev. George M. White, O.M.I., 90, died June 18, 2009 at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Oblate Infirmary and Residence in Tewksbury, MA, after a period of declining health. A Mohawk Indian, he was born, July 25, 1918, at St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation, Cornwall Island, Ontario, and was the son of, and predeceased by, Peter A. and Monica (Roundpoint) White and his stepmother, Anna Mitchell.
His early education was in public schools and at an Iroquois Indian School. Further education continued at Holy Angels Collegiate Institute in Buffalo, NY. He received his degrees in philosophy and theology at the Oblate House of Philosophy and the Oblate Scholasticate in Newburgh, NY and Washington, DC respectively.
Fr. White entered the Oblate Novitiate on September 7, 1938 at Tewksbury, MA which is the present site of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Residence and Infirmary and took first vows there on Sept. 8, 1939. He made his perpetual vows on September 8, 1942 and was ordained to the priesthood by Oblate Bishop, Arsene Turquetil, in Washington, DC on June 4, 1945. He was the first member of the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation to be ordained and only the second Mohawk Indian ordained.
Fr. White served in various ministries for some 57 years of his priestly life. He left for the missions in Brazil in 1946 and remained until 1962. There he ministered in parishes in Suzano-Vila Alpina, and Pocos de Caldas. Upon returning to the states, he served in parishes until 2003 including St. Patrick's and St. Ann's parishes in Fayetteville, SC; Holy Angels Parish in Buffalo, NY and Immaculate Conception Parish in Waterbury, CT where he ministered for almost 30 years. From 1973-76 he also did mission appeals based in Toledo, Ohio . He was stationed at Our Lady of Hope Oblate Center in Newburgh, NY while ministering in Waterbury, CT.
Due to declining health, Fr. White retired in August of 2003 to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Residence and Infirmary in Tewksbury, MA where he remained until his death. At the time of his death, he had just celebrated his 64th anniversary of ordination. He was devoted to Our Lady of Fatima during his years as a priest, and promoted devotion to her wherever he was.
In addition to his Oblate family, Fr. White is survived by his half-sister, Dorothy Printup, and her husband, John, of Batavia, NY and his half-brother, James White, and his wife, Lucille, of Rochester, NY as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Besides his parents, he was predeceased by a sister, Mary Jemison, and two half-sisters, Arlene David and Betty Jane Garcia.