Firefighters For Christ Co-Founder Capt. John White Remembered

LAKE FOREST, CA —Funeral services were held Friday morning for a retired Los Angeles Fire Department chaplain who died late last month. Capt. John Andrew White died on Nov. 24, according to the LAFD. He was 84-year-old.

White was a 44-year veteran and earned LAFD Firefighter of the Year honors in 1997 and an LAFD Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

Born in Los Angeles and raised in Alhambra, White enlisted in the U.S. Navy after high school in 1951 and served aboard the USS Brown during the Korean War. After leaving the Navy, he served in the Merchant Marine and later worked for Southern California Edison and in construction before joining the LAFD in 1957.

He co-founded Firefighters for Christ International in 1976 and went on to serve as a fire chaplain until the time of his death, according to the LAFD.

White was preceded in death by his wife of 42 years, Jane Stewart White, and his son Rick White. He is survived by his son Steve, daughter Gayle Williams, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

The funeral was held at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest.

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