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Stephen T. White

Date of Death: February 23, 2024

Date of Birth: March 14, 1934

Biography:

Stephen T. White passed away at Mere Point Longterm Care in Brunswick, Maine on Friday, February 23, 2024. Stephen (Steve) was born in Boston, MA on March 14, 1934. He was the son of Edwin T. and Madeline R. White. Steve was the middle of three sons, between Jim (deceased) and Tony. Steve leaves behind his wife, Clare, and his daughter, Lisa. His son, Mark (Bancroft ‘78), predeceased him in 2019. He also leaves behind 4 grandchildren: Turner, Alden, Peter and Sarah. 

Steve grew up in Rutland, VT and attended Phillips Academy Andover for his junior and senior years. He attended Brown University where he met his future wife, Clare, in their freshman year. Four years later, they married, three days after their graduation. That fall Steve and Clare moved across the country where they lived in Berkeley, CA while Steve earned his Master’s degree in English Literature from the University of CA at Berkeley.

Shortly after earning his Master’s, Steve received notification from the Rutland Draft Board that he was first on their draft list for the Army. He promptly enlisted in the Navy, serving for two years.

After a brief time teaching in the Scituate public schools, Steve accepted a job teaching English Literature to Upper School students at Bancroft School in Worcester, MA. When Steve started this teaching position in 1961, the Upper School was all-female, and when he retired, 47 years later at the age of 74, he had taught the grandchildren of some of his former students. Steve was a gifted teacher, in the most quiet of ways. His love of his subject, and his ability to make connections between literature, history, cultures, and religions, was extraordinary. Steve’s knowledge, his kindness, and his quiet sense of humor made him one of the school’s “favorite” teachers during his long tenure at  Bancroft School.

Steve’s other love was traveling with Clare, around the globe, and throughout the American Southwest. They spent many summers at their condo in Ridgway, Colorado, hiking in the San Juan mountains, and horseback riding at their two favorite dude ranches. Steve also loved South Bristol, Maine, where his wife’s family has owned a cottage since 1940. Wherever Steve traveled or spent time, his ability to strike up a conversation with people of every age and from all walks of life was both genuine and endearing.