William P. White III

William Pierrepont White III, environmentalist, computer programmer and beloved member of the Bryn Mawr community, passed away on October 22, 2024 at the age of 82.

Born July 2, 1942 in Utica, New York to William Pierrepont White Jr. and Susan Daniels White, William (known to many as Bill) was raised on a dairy farm in Clinton, NY. After a childhood of tending chickens, building machines and playing tennis and ice hockey, William graduated from New Hartford High School in 1960.

For the next four years, William studied at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT as a member of the class of 1964. Between playing on a tight-knit hockey team, studying American history and belonging to the unique Wesleyan fraternity the Eclectic Society, the experience would shape the rest of his life. His position as chairman of the Cardinal Key, the committee for welcoming guests to campus, earned him the nickname “Mr. Wesleyan.” He continued his involvement with the college, including planning his 50th class reunion, until his passing.

Following his time at Wesleyan, William spent two years with the Peace Corps in Nigeria teaching soil conservation. He built meaningful friendships in the community and with his fellow volunteers, many of which were maintained through the Friends of Nigeria network. The start of the Biafran War ended his service there and he returned to the United States looking to continue his education.

Upon his return, William enrolled at Cornell University for graduate school, where he earned his Master of Public Administration in 1969. After a second stint abroad working for the Ford Foundation in Beirut, Lebanon, William began using his MPA at the newly-formed Office of Management and Budget in Washington, D.C.

A civil service career blossomed for the next 15 years, taking William to the Environmental Protection Agency and then the Department of Energy, where he testified on the efficacy of wind power before it was commercially viable.

One particularly adventurous trip in 1981 filled William with great pride — successfully sailing with two friends across the Atlantic Ocean from Bermuda to the Azores without any navigational equipment following an electrical malfunction — a story he would tell for decades.

After meeting his wife, the late Athie Sosangelis-White, at a mutual friend’s party in D.C., he relocated to the Philadelphia area to be with her. Leaving D.C. meant leaving the federal government, so William decided to try his hand at entrepreneurship and started an environmental remediation business in PA. As that business ended, he retrained in information technology and learned to code while in his mid 60s. That skill brought him work as a database administrator until he retired in 2012.

Fixated on learning in retirement, William took great joy in traveling to museums around the world, studying classical music and watching talks to better understand the role of physics throughout the universe. He was also active in the Hellenic University Club, where he enjoyed attending lectures and talking with other members.

Always witty and keen to listen, friendships were a crucial part of William’s life. He kept in close touch with several childhood friends for over 75 years, and loved any opportunity to chat up new people and make acquaintances.

He was highly regarded as caring for others and felt strongly that helping others was a core element of being alive. He read constantly about and contributed to an extensive list of causes — the climate crisis, overpopulation, global health, civil rights and gerrymandering — going to lengths to find and support organizations that matched his values.

William is survived by his son, Alexander White, who took diligent care of him in Bryn Mawr for the last year of his life; by two beloved siblings, brother Sammis White, of Milwaukee, WI and Sarah White of Syracuse, NY; and by his partner of the last 15 years, Irene Sperling, of Sherman Oaks, CA.

A private celebration of life will be held in November. To honor William’s focus on the health and dignity of people around the globe, donations can be made to Doctors Without Borders.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of William P. White III, please visit our floral store.