Thomas Royce White | obituaries

Thomas Royce White of Hailey, Idaho, passed away on Jan. 29, 2022, in Lincoln County, Idaho.

Tom was born on June 7, 1971, to William Henry and Barbara Royce in Portland, Oregon. Tom attended Lincoln High School in downtown Portland. The White’s cabin near Mt. Hood was often the center of activity while learning to ski and enjoying time with family and friends. Tom went on to study political science and Japanese at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. He graduated in 1993 and almost immediately moved to Idaho.

Tom served as a river guide for Two-M on the upper Main Salmon and as a ski instructor before beginning a career in service to others by enrolling in the fire academy in the fall of 1995. He volunteered as an Engineer/EMT for the Ketchum Fire Department from 1996 to 1998, before being hired as a full-time firefighter with Wood River Fire Rescue in June 1998.

Tom had two children with his first marriage: Samantha Lorenz, born in September 2001, and Will Howard, born in September 2004.

In 2002, Tom completed his paramedic training. He was promoted to the position of Captain in June 2003 and joined the Sun Valley Ski Patrol that same winter. He served with distinction in both roles until his death.

Tom married Kelly Winnovich in Sun Valley on April 10, 2012, and their daughter Lisa Jean was born in September 2014.

Time and again, friends and family, in describing Tom’s professional roles use words and phrases like “competent,” “prepared for anything,” and “an extremely hard worker.” He had a calming effect on emergency scenes—from the triangle to the mountain.

Tom loved the outdoors; if it could be done at Galena Lodge, he was in. Mountain biking and Nordic skiing became passions in the past few years. His daughter, Lisa, was often along for the ride.

Tom loved sweets and anything within reach was fair game, including an entire dish of cinnamon rolls. He enjoyed the Trailblazers, a pint of beer, a game of racquetball and, perhaps most of all, anything “Star Wars.”

Tom loved learning. In the past few years, he had gone back to school and earned an associate degree in Fire Science from the College of Southern Idaho. At the station or at home, he often had an obscure history book nearby, complete with dozens of “flags” marking passages he felt significant. Car trips were filled with podcasts on similar topics. And he was happy to share the knowledge and experience he had gained with new firefighters, paramedics and ski patrol members.

Most of all, Tom loved his children. He was a proud father, and they always came first.

Tom is survived by his wife of nine years, Kelly; and his three children, Sam (20), Will (17) and Lisa (7), all of Hailey, Idaho; his incredibly proud parents, Bill and Barbara White, of Brightwood, Oregon; his sister, brother-in-law, nephew and niece, Julie, Chris, Adam and Katie Henriques, of San Jose, California; and his special sister, Masami Saitoh Cooke, of Vancouver, Washington.

A memorial service will be held Thursday, Feb. 10 at 5:30 pm in the Limelight Ballroom of the Sun Valley Inn. An emergency services vehicle processional from River Run to the Sun Valley Inn will precede the service. In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to the Tom White Memorial Fund at DL Evans Bank. This fund will be used for suicide prevention and mental health awareness.