Carroll "Chuck" White

Chuck White of Middleton, Tennessee passed away peacefully on December 2, 2019. Chuck was born on August 3, 1937 in Toone Tennessee. Both of Chuck’s parents, his mother Nancy Jane White and his father William Carroll “Jack” White have passed on. Chuck is survived by four of his six siblings, Sheila Arnold of Jackson, TN / Tony White of Myrtle, MS / Jim White of Middleton, TN and Neil White of Saulsbury, TN. Chuck was preceded in death by his two brothers, Bobby White and Bill White.

Chuck’s first marriage to Levon Smith lasted nine and a half years, and produced three children who he loved dearly: Marvin White and wife Mary Jane of Bolivar / Sheila Ward and husband Randy of Memphis, and Sherry Pennington and husband Scott of Wylie, Texas.

His second marriage to Mary Pearl Pace in 1969 lasted over 50 happy years. He became father to a whole brood of girls, all of whom loved him and will miss him every day. Starting with the eldest, they are Patricia Braddock and husband Curt of Byrdstown, TN / Linda Pickett and husband Randy of Wilmington, NC / Norma Fuller and husband Larry of Savannah, TN / Donna Pace of Abita Springs, LA / Rita Sears of Middleton, TN / Rebecca Miklancic and husband Daniel of Mt. Pleasant, SC and Mary Anne Goertz and husband Dustin of Bolivar, TN.

This group of diverse and loving children has given him a total of 14 grandkids, and 13 great grandkids and one great great grandkid.. It was his grandchildren which gave him hours of joy and happiness in his later years. They all have lost a loving ‘Papaw’ and caring mentor.

After attending Grand Junction High School, Chuck joined the US Army and served from 1957 until his honorable discharge as a Staff Sergeant E6 in 1968. During his time in the service, Chuck worked as a mechanic, repairing and maintaining various motorized vehicles. Chuck worked on about everything the Army had, but his specialty was tanks and other heavy fighting equipment. He served two tours of duty in Germany as a tank mechanic, finishing his service as Assistant Battalion Maintenance Sergeant in Fort Benning, Georgia.

After his discharge, Chuck worked doing backhoe and bulldozer work. Eventually he spent many years working at Callahan’s garage in Middleton. He finished off his working career by following the bright lights of the movie industry. Chuck and Mary spent several years in Wilmington, NC working in the film industry. Chuck was the go-to-guy for repairing picture cars and keeping all of the equipment trucks running. Besides working on the epic “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, he also worked with Andy Griffith on “Matlock,” Alan Alda on “Betsy’s Wedding,” and many other movie stars, both big and small.

For as hard as Chuck worked, he really had only three hobbies, fishing, hunting and helping people. Everyone has heard his fishing and hunting tales, some are more believable than others. But what he didn’t brag about was all the time he spent helping relatives, neighbors, or complete strangers with car trouble. If you had a car problem no one else could fix, he would take on the challenge and find a solution. If your car broke down, and you had no money, he would still come out in the middle of the night and fix it. Sometimes he would eventually get paid, some times not. It didn’t matter, he was there to help.

We need more people like Chuck. He was a loving husband, a good father, a steadfast soldier, an honest mechanic, an old fashion horse trader, a friend to all in need, and a so-so fisherman. Chuck White will be missed

Services will be held at the Shackelford Funeral home in Middleton, Tennessee on Thursday, December 5, 2019 at 1:00 pm. Graveside services will follow immediately after at New Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery in Roger Springs.