Darlene White

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Darlene White on January 22, 2023 in Spokane, WA.  She was 81 years old.

Darlene was the oldest of six children, born in 1941 in Odessa, MO to parents Jim and Doris Emis. Her family moved to southern California during her high school years - where Darlene graduated from West Covina High School in 1959.  While playing piano at church during her senior year, Darlene met her future husband, Phil White.  The two celebrated their 60th anniversary on October 19, 2022.  She lived in Liberty Lake, WA for the past two years.  Prior to that, she resided 20 years in San Clemente, CA and 23 years in San Dimas, CA.

Darlene worked at Aerojet ElectroSystems in Azusa, CA where she was nick-named “Eagle Eye” by her supervisor, Mike Citro, for her ability to quickly pick out issues and errors as a Program Control Manager.  She was a very smart lady who retired after more than 30 years from Aerojet in 2001.  Her time at Aerojet and the relationships she made there were impactful to Darlene and her family.

Along with loving to spend time with family, Darlene was an avid card player and puzzle solver.  She was a Ruby Life-Master member of the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) and loved playing duplicate bridge in retirement- playing every weekday until the Covid Pandemic in 2020.  She had so many partners to choose from because she was a top-notch player and beloved member of the club.  Everyone knew, if at all possible, she would get to and make 3N!  She was so happy to pass on her love of the game to her daughter and granddaughters.  Nearly every day included some card game, jigsaw puzzle or crossword puzzle.  This love of games and puzzles was passed on to her entire family.  She also enjoyed knitting and cross-stitching in earlier years. Darlene loved her family, supporting them in all of their endeavors, be it music, sports, and life events.

Darlene passed away surrounded by her loved ones after a battle with liver disease and cancer.  She is survived by her husband- Phil White; five siblings- Dolores Dowdle of Oceanside, CA, Duayne Emis (Linda Emis) of Santa Rosa, CA, Delcie Crockett of Sun City West, Arizona, Daryl Emis of Chester, CA & David Emis of Sun City West, Arizona; children- Toni Helms (Mark Helms) of Liberty Lake, WA and Jim White (Liz White) of Chino Hills, CA; five grandchildren- Lauren Vincent-White (Patrick Vincent) of Ontario, CA, Amanda Price-White (Cody Price) of Chino, CA, Cheyenne Helms of Liberty Lake, WA, Courtney Helms (Adam Carlson) of Post Falls, ID, & Joshua White of Chino Hills, CA; and two great-grandchildren- Levi White & August Vincent of Ontario, CA. 

There will be a “Celebration of Life” service in Oceanside, CA on July 23, 2023 at 1pm.  If you would like to attend the “Celebration of Life” service, please contact a family member to be put on the list.

Please share your memories of Darlene on her Tribute Wall.