[Greater-Baltimore] Sad News: Passing of Joe White

[president at nfbmd.org]

Friends,

 

I am sorry to share that Joe White passed away on July 28, 2026, at the age
of 83 after a very long illness.  Joe and his wife, Loretta, were previously
long-time members of the Maryland Organization of Parents of Blind Children
in the 1980s and 1990s, before moving out of state (North Carolina and
Indiana) when they retired.  Joe was also a member of the NFB of Maryland
Board of Directors in the 1990s.  Joe leaves behind his loving wife,
Loretta, 12 children, including Nicole White who is known to many of you, 19
grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren.  

 

Joe served his country first in the United States Navy and later as a
research and development engineer with the aerospace industry, including
with NASA during the early Apollo program.  

 

Joe was well-known for playing Santa Claus at the MDPOBC holiday party.  He
also worked tirelessly behind the scenes on parent division tasks and
operations and was a strong mentor for other parents of blind children.  He
and Loretta were the first parents of blind children to receive the NFBMD
Kenneth Jernigan Award.

 

Services will take place in Burlington, North Carolina on August 3, 2026.
The obituary link is below.  The family requests that in lieu of flowers,
donations be made to the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
(https://nfbmd.org/donate).

 

https://www.lowefuneralhome.com/obituaries/joseph-white  

 

Those wishing to send condolences to Loretta may contact her at: 

508 W 1050N

Fortville, IN 46040

 

Please keep Joe, Loretta, Nicole, and all who loved Joe in your thoughts and
prayers.

 

Regards,

Ronza

 

 

Ronza Othman, President

National Federation of the Blind of Maryland

443-426-4110

Pronouns: she, her, hers

 

Need to meet with me?   <https://calendly.com/president-nfbmd/30min> Please
use this link to schedule through Calendly.

 

The National Federation of the Blind of Maryland knows that blindness is not
the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.