John Richard White, Jr.

John Richard White, Jr., 65, of Toledo, OH passed away unexpectedly on September 1, 2022. He was born in Toledo on January 29, 1957, to his parents, John Richard White, Sr. and Evelyn (Pfund) White, where he grew up alongside his sister. On occasion he was called ‘White’ by his wife, or ‘Pop Pop’ by his beloved grandchildren.

John attended Ottawa Hills High School and graduated in 1975. From 1972-1996, he managed many Ohio stations and car washes. He then switched paths to begin working for SOFO Foods before kickstarting a 20-year would be long career at Kroger. John met his future wife, then Suzanne Combs, while working at Kroger in 2008. They saw each other here and there throughout their night shifts but it wasn’t until November of 2011 that they went on their first date. Assumingly, it went fairly well due to the fact that they in fact got married at Devil’s Lake a short 9 months after. As they both know, their marriage was full of joy and laughter. Even when one of them got mad about something, they always found a way to laugh it off. They were rarely ever mad at each other, and Suzanne will dearly miss his smile and laughter among so many things.

Together, John and Suzanne’s families merged making John a father of four. He loved his family and was extremely proud to be a father and grandfather. John was very into Pontiacs and could always be found building a car, heading out to car shows with his eldest son, Johnny, or simply teaching new things to his grandson. He was very into the detailing work and took great care of all his belongings. He was a fan of Nascar and often attended races at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, MI.

John was sarcastic, had a great smile, and loved to laugh. He kept a running collection of dad jokes and will always be remembered for his funny gift giving. He was practically famous for routinely gifting boxes of cookies with Best Buy gift cards wedged inside, along with tortilla makers to the family members special enough to be chosen. He had a way of working the Kroger system to absolutely maximize his Kroger points during the holidays. His favorite foods were potpies and Stauffer’s Swedish meatballs, with his favorite drink being the extremely dilute black coffee that he drank all day long.

John was notorious for keeping things how he liked them. His sons remember him as always willing to share his tools, but they knew better than to leave them out without cleaning up, or else they’d never hear the end of it. He was an avid collector of all types of broken clocks (including watches) and found so much satisfaction in fixing them. He was always wearing a watch, no matter where he was. John also had the effortless talent of solving problems by simply pointing out the obvious. His approach was never complex but left everyone dumbfounded since he seemed to literally see things through a different lens. He was undoubtedly a man who left an impression on those who knew him, and he will be remembered and missed by so many.

John is survived by his loving wife of 10 years, Suzanne White; children, Johnny Richard White, III., Jennifer (Jared) Kurth, Savannah Schleifer, Seth Schleifer; grandchildren, London Davis, Xavier Schleifer, Evelyn Kurth, Jarhett Kurth; sister, Joette Collins; and many other nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his ex-wife, Heather Johnson.

A public memorial gathering will take place on Friday, September 16, 2022, from 4-7 p.m. at the Walker Funeral Home, 5155 W Sylvania Avenue, Toledo, OH, 43623. Condolences may be sent to the family via the tribute wall at walkerfuneralhomes.com. In lieu of flowers, please considering donating via the Tribute Fund to assist John’s family with their funeral expenses in his honor.