After a long day of working in the barn or under the hot sun atop his combine in the fields, Charles “Tip” White would slip through the basement door of his farmhouse and quickly shower and shave, before joining his family for dinner.
“He did it because he wanted to please our mother,” said his daughter, Linda Seyller. “Sometimes he’d be so hungry and exhausted, but he’d always take the few extra minutes to make himself look good for her.”
Mr. White, 79, of Virgil, a lifelong farmer and World War II veteran, died of congestive heart failure at home while resting in his favorite chair Monday, Aug. 16.
Born and raised on his family’s dairy farm near Virgil in western Kane County, Mr. White had just turned 16 when he was stricken with polio. Although doctors doubted he would ever walk again, family members said he regained full use of his legs within two years through therapy and daily exercise.
“All day long he’d crawl up and down the staircase in his home, trying to build up his muscles,” his daughter said. “His parents also took him to a place in Aurora where he’d sit for hours in a large vat of hot water to help increase circulation in his legs.”
In World War II, Mr. White served for two years as an administrative clerk in the Army, based in Tacoma, Wash. After his discharge, he returned home and began farming with his brother Francis “Bud” White. The two farmed together for the next 49 years while also running a milk route for Country’s Delight.
“In those days there were dairy farms along all the country roads, and my father and uncle serviced every one of them, from Hinckley to Hampshire,” his daughter said.
In 1953, Mr. White married Susan, his wife of 41 years, who died in 1994. The couple lived in Elburn for a few years before moving to a farm on Welter Road on the outskirts of Virgil. In 1984 they moved to the present family home in Virgil.
“They had a very special marriage, one that was filled with love and respect,” his daughter said. Through the years, Mr. White also tended bar Thursday nights at Jim Geisen’s Charcoal Inn in Virgil. There, family members said he came to know almost everyone in town and forged many friendships.
“He got to know the younger men in town and became like a second father to many of them,” said his son, Jeffrey. “They’d drop by the bar because they’d want to chat and have a drink with Charlie.”
For the last several years, Mr. White lived in his family home in Virgil with his daughter and her family.
According to family members, Mr. White spent untold hours playing cards and enjoying the company of his granddaughter, Amy, with whom he collected miniature farm equipment.
“One of my fondest memories is watching them out back, walking hand in hand,” his daughter said.
Other survivors include two brothers, Robert and Arthur; and a sister, Leona Thompson.
Mass will be said at 10:30 a.m. Friday in Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church at Illinois Highway 64 and Meredith Road, Virgil.
