C I T Y O F F E R N D A L E

R E S O L U T I O N 2010

At a Regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Ferndale, Oakland County, Michigan, held in the Council Chambers at 300 E. Nine Mile Road, Ferndale, Michigan 48220 on the 9th day of August, 2010, The following Resolution was moved by Council Member, supported unanimously:

Raymond H. White, 85, of Oak Park, died on August 4, 2010. He was born May 31, 1925 in Ferndale and was one of six children. He graduated from Ferndale High School in 1943 and entered the US Navy soon afterwards; and

Ray served as a Seabee and was present on D-Day as he watched the invasion from the caissons his brigade had constructed in the harbor, with the battle ships behind him firing over those caissons onto the beach. He was interviewed about his experience for recent World War II documentaries; and

After being discharged he returned to the Ferndale area where married his sweetheart, Mary, who was the daughter of his favorite grade school teacher. He worked at General Motors for over thirty years and was a speech writer for Fisher Auto Body; and

Ray was very active in the Ferndale community. He helped the disabled in his spare time. He was a long time volunteer with WFRN, the City’s municipal cable television station, where he could often be seen behind the camera cueing the mayor to begin the Council meeting. Ray was a member of the Ferndale Historical Society, serving as a past president and contributing to the book, Old Timers Tell It Like It Was, where he related, in his typical engaging fashion, stories of his youth and growing up in Ferndale. His love for the Ferndale’s history was evident as he was instrumental in the effort to install a replica of the Crow’s Nest at the intersection of Woodward and Nine Mile; and

Ray loved parades ever since he marched in Detroit’s Thanksgiving Day parade as a child. His enthusiasm for parades and his musical skills as a tuba player led him to volunteer for many years as an assistant band director at Ferndale High School. Ray served as the parade marshal in Ferndale’s Memorial Day parade as well as the 4th of July parade in Oak Park, where he lived since 1952. He was a recurrent speaker at the Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony at the Ferndale Memorial Mall. Ray was one of the veterans invited to participate in Honor Flight Michigan, a non-profit formed to transport WWII veterans to the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C., an honor which touched him deeply; and

A man of diverse interests, Ray enjoyed the Detroit Symphony and the Detroit Tigers. Although Ray lived in Oak Park for nearly 50 years and was an active volunteer there, he was always an integral part of the Ferndale community as well. Ray’s kindness, generosity, community pride and sense of humor will not soon be forgotten. It is with great sadness that our community says good-bye to this very special man who dedicated so much of his life to the betterment of Ferndale; and

Ray White will be missed by many but especially by his loving wife, Mary; brother, Harold (Sally); daughters, Elaine (Tim) Hynes and Bette; sons, William (Jennifer), Richard (Barbara) and Walter (Christianne); twelve grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren; and

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we, Ferndale’s elected officials, do hereby extend our Community’s condolences to the family of Raymond Henry White

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution, duly certified, be forwarded to the family.

ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY

I, Cherilynn Tallman, City Clerk of Ferndale, certify that this is a true and compared copy of a Resolution duly made and passed by the Ferndale City Council at a meeting held August 9, 2010.

_______________________________ J. Cherilynn Tallman, City Clerk