Dr. Robert Glenn White
BY Staff Reports
Friday, January 25, 2013
1/25/13 at 5:19 AM
Dr. Robert Glenn White, Jr. died on January 21, 2013. He was born January 1, 1932 in Joplin, Mo. The White family, in which he was the oldest of eight children, later moved to Tulsa where Bob graduated from Central High School and met Clarice Clark, his wife of 60 years. He attended Tulsa University for three years before entering medical school at the University of Oklahoma. Upon medical school graduation, he interned one year at St. Louis County Hospital and then served his country in the U.S. Air Force for three years in San Antonio, TX before moving his family of six to Sapulpa. He was a lifetime member of the First Presbyterian Church of Sapulpa and of the Rotary Club. Bob also served diligently as a Sapulpa City Commissioner and as a Director of Spirit Bank. Bob practiced family medicine for 30 years with his life-long friend Dr. Gerald Zumwalt. As a physician, he delivered over 1500 babies, always advised against elective surgery, and avoided hospital bureaucracy, although he spent several stints serving as Chief of Staff at Bartlett Memorial Hospital in Sapulpa. He loved travel, the arts, OU football, and outdoor activities. Besides his wife, four children and seven grandchildren, his greatest love was his Colorado cabin. He used gatherings at the cabin to pull family, especially his grandchildren, close together. There they found a love that turned cous- ins into brothers and sisters. Bob had a superior work ethic and intellect. He was infamous with his family for imparting his wisdom by pointed aphorisms, such as “Never burn your bridges” and “Nothing in life is free”. Family members knew never to ride a ski lift with him unless they craved receiving lessons of life or financial advice. At first his family tolerated these lessons, then laughed at them and finally valued them. Bob’s most sincere belief was that, “Family is everything” and he successfully imbued his family with that belief. Bob’s intellect, his medical profession, his political and spiritual beliefs, his financial prowess, and his love of life left his mark on every person in which he came in contact throughout his life. Bob was predeceased by his son, Robert Glenn White III and his daughter-in-law, Leah White. He is survived by his wife, Clarice White, his three children and in-laws, Jean Ann White of Tulsa, Robin White, DDS of El Reno, Susan and Greg Lukeman of Tulsa, and the Honorable Ronald White of Muskogee. He had seven beloved grandchildren: Claire Lukeman, DO, Taylor Mauldin, John Lukeman, Ben Mauldin, Anna Lukeman, Bonnie White, and Robert White IV. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to First Presbyterian Church of Sapulpa Endowment Fund, 111 S. Oak St., Sapulpa, OK 74066. This obituary was published in the Tulsa World on 1/25/2013.
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