Donald Stanley White

Don White led a life full of adventure, dedicated public service, and devotion to family, friends, and community. His infectious grin, generous listening, and avid enthusiasm for adventure were signature features to all who knew him, and marked his deep enjoyment of, and determination to get the most out of, every moment of life.

Born in Brooklyn, New York to Martin White and Florence Meiman White, Don spent his first years in NYC where, at nine years old, his mother brought him to see his first Broadway production, Oklahoma. “It was thrilling. I fell in love with musicals, they are still pure magic for me. When the house lights go down and the overture starts, I'm carried away.” The experience inspired a lifelong affection for musicals, which eventually found fruition in his KPTZ Sunday broadcast, Broadway Showtime.

In 1948, Don’s family moved to Los Angeles. After attending Hamilton High School, he enrolled as a freshman at UCLA, gaining renown as a Bruin Head Cheerleader at football games where he led stadiums full of fans in cheers and merry antics. Among many memorable episodes is a stand-out in which he led fellow cheerleaders around the track on motor scooters while the crowd sang the 1955 hit, “Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots.” He also appeared alongside Carol Burnett in the UCLA musical, Love Thy Coach.

An intrepid adventurer from his early days, Don bicycled from Los Angeles to New York City in 1955 with two friends, Richard Shapiro and Aaron Cohen. Their escapades, from sleeping in local jails to rafting down the Platte River, later became fodder for many stories around his family’s dinner table. In 1956, the trio followed up with a bicycle trip to Mexico City.

While at UCLA, Don met the love of his life, Sylvia Schostak. They were wed in January, 1960.

Don soon swapped his acting ambitions for a law degree, graduating from UC Berkeley’s Bolt School of Law in 1960. In 1961, he was among the first to answer President John F. Kennedy call to “ask not what your country can do for you but for what you can do for your country” by volunteering with the Peace Corps. Accompanied by Sylvia, he was soon serving as Assistant Director in Ghana, and later Tanzania.

Upon returning to the U.S, Don became a public defender for the city of Los Angeles, believing that everyone, regardless of financial resources, deserved access to representation. Throughout his time in L.A., and in keeping with a lifelong commitment to equality, fairness, and justice, he and Sylvia protested for civil rights and against the Vietnam War. In 1968, he ran for Congress on an anti-war platform, endorsed by Senator Eugene McCarthy. Although he didn’t win that race, he continued to be an active advocate for civil rights, social justice, and peace. He was a true believer in the value of local community, and he and Sylvia both served terms as Board President of the Hollywood-Los Feliz Jewish Community Center (HLFJCC). He was also a long-time Board member for Temple Israel of Hollywood.

In 1974, Don put aside his law career when he and Sylvia and their two sons moved to Ghana for a year while Sylvia did her research work for her PhD. Upon the family’s return, he continued his private practice as a trial lawyer, which he continued until his retirement from law, and their move to Port Townsend in 1995.

Once in Port Townsend, he and Sylvia quickly embedded themselves in the town’s thriving arts community. Finally able to pursue his long-harbored acting dreams, Don worked steadily with Key City Theatre, as well as with other theaters including Saltfire Theatre, where he performed as recently as the Summer of 2024 in The Sneeze.

Don’s adoration of short stories led him to start a live short-story reading series, PT Shorts, featuring locally-based readers. His appreciation for the short story form carried over into a regular appearance on Phil Andrus’s Sunday evening KPTZ broadcasts, Tossed Salad and Cats in our Laps, on which Don would read some of his favorite stories or pieces by writers ranging from Ambrose Bierce to Edgar Allan Poe to essayist Dan Barry.

An additional claim to fame was Don’s long-running series on KPTZ, the aforementioned Broadway Showtime, for which he recorded more than 100 episodes about the musicals that crossed the Broadway stage. Whether these shows ran for decades on Broadway or closed soon after opening, Don was a fan and keen analyst of their virtues and foibles.

Continuing his longtime commitment to community, Don served as chair of the Port Townsend Arts Commission and on the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce, the Port Townsend Economic Development Council, The Port Townsend Marine Science Center, and as President of Port Townsend Friends of the Arts.

Don’s culinary life was as adventurous as his life outside the kitchen. In addition to cooking a wide range of cuisines for family and friends, the walls of his home are adorned by his many First Place certificates at the Port Townsend Chili Cook-Off.

Over more than 65 years together, Don and Sylvia, driven by shared interest in and respect for other cultures, journeyed to many countries across the globe, and their home is full of photos and artwork from their travels. Together they continued advocating for civil and human rights, including showing up on the protest line during the first Trump administration to advocate for immigrant rights.

These are but some of Don’s many accomplishments and activities over the years. In addition to all this, Don was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and older brother. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Sylvia; his two sons and daughters-in-law, Stephen & Helena and Andrew & Shari; his grandchildren Sabrina, Luciana, Jules, and Asher; his brother, Lawrence; and his sister, Judith. He was also a generous supporter of both local and national causes, and for those so inclined, we encourage making a donation in Don's name to Port Townsend Marine Science Center, Key City Theatre, or ACLU.

In every room he entered, Don’s warmth, wit, and unfailing good-humor lifted hearts and put a smile on everyone’s faces. Even though he has now left the room, his memory fills us with the same warmth and happiness with which he lived his life.