Obituary for Austin Eugene White
Austin Eugene White passed away shortly before noon on December 21, 2022 at 81 years old. Austin began life as a sharecropper’s son and he shared many stories about his life growing up with his four siblings - it was a hard life with many missed school days to pick cotton, yearly moves from one farm to another, and missed meals. These early experiences cemented his dedication to working hard to provide a better education for his own children.
He graduated from Whiteville High School in 1959 and attended Memphis State University, working at A & P to pay his way through school. Austin married Marie Woods in 1962, and had two children, Susan and Ken. He worked at the Medicenter IT department and became proficient in assembly code, then COBOL, eventually forming a partnership Data-Tec, Inc, which combined IT, accounting, and later mass mailing. He was on the forefront of the information revolution as it moved from mainframe to PC to the cloud. Austin was active for many years in the Southaven business community and volunteered on the Southaven Springfest Committee from its inception - providing the processing services for the bar-b-cue judging.
In 2005 he married Sue Heard, and following her death in 2017 he met and later married Shirley Tabor, who passed away in 2021.
Austin loved nothing more than laughing around the table with a group of friends and family . He also loved driving his tractor and many of his family and friends enjoyed all the delicious vegetables he grew and gave away. Austin was generous to his family and friends - providing jobs, cars, financial help to those who found themselves in need.
One of the greatest joys of the last decade of his life was raising his grand-niece Bella and helping her find her perfect forever family.
He was preceded in death by his father James Andrew White, his mother Mamie Poole White (Moody), his brother Robert, his wife Sue White, and his wife Shirley Tabor White. He is survived by his sister Sue Culver (Jerry), his brother Jerry White (Kathy), his brother J D (Peggie), his daughter Susan Marling (Paul), his son Ken White (Lucia), his grand-daughter Cathy White, his stepdaughter Linda Shelton (David) and his beloved grand-niece Bella Harms. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a contribution of a bit of your time to the people in your life who are special to you. That would make him very happy.
He graduated from Whiteville High School in 1959 and attended Memphis State University, working at A & P to pay his way through school. Austin married Marie Woods in 1962, and had two children, Susan and Ken. He worked at the Medicenter IT department and became proficient in assembly code, then COBOL, eventually forming a partnership Data-Tec, Inc, which combined IT, accounting, and later mass mailing. He was on the forefront of the information revolution as it moved from mainframe to PC to the cloud. Austin was active for many years in the Southaven business community and volunteered on the Southaven Springfest Committee from its inception - providing the processing services for the bar-b-cue judging.
In 2005 he married Sue Heard, and following her death in 2017 he met and later married Shirley Tabor, who passed away in 2021.
Austin loved nothing more than laughing around the table with a group of friends and family . He also loved driving his tractor and many of his family and friends enjoyed all the delicious vegetables he grew and gave away. Austin was generous to his family and friends - providing jobs, cars, financial help to those who found themselves in need.
One of the greatest joys of the last decade of his life was raising his grand-niece Bella and helping her find her perfect forever family.
He was preceded in death by his father James Andrew White, his mother Mamie Poole White (Moody), his brother Robert, his wife Sue White, and his wife Shirley Tabor White. He is survived by his sister Sue Culver (Jerry), his brother Jerry White (Kathy), his brother J D (Peggie), his daughter Susan Marling (Paul), his son Ken White (Lucia), his grand-daughter Cathy White, his stepdaughter Linda Shelton (David) and his beloved grand-niece Bella Harms. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a contribution of a bit of your time to the people in your life who are special to you. That would make him very happy.