William Vernon White

William Vernon White, age 72, of St Paul, MN, died on March 19, 2026, in Edina, MN, of metastatic melanoma, supported and cared for by his dear friend Hilary Sackett Crosbie.

Born on February 11, 1954, in Putney, London, to David Oliver Courtenay White and Barbara Winifred White (nee O’Sullivan), William was educated at Roehampton Church School and Westminster City School. He attended Imperial College London for undergraduate and postgraduate studies, where he earned a first-class honours degree in mathematics. During this time he became an accomplished rower, even competing in the Henley Royal Regatta, and his love of being on or in the water continued throughout his life.

He is remembered for his broad smile, endless curiosity and intelligence. Music and mathematics were lifelong passions, the former being something he shared with close family and friends - whether in choirs, playing piano or French horn, or attending performances. He spent his entire working life with Cray supercomputers from 1979 until he retired in 2017, most recently as a Sales Operations Director, and never stopped trying to solve the everyday through equations and formulas.

Whilst living in St Paul, he found renewed passion in extensively contributing to the Minnesota Opera and other arts institutions. Recovery communities, including Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon, also became a significant part of his later life, where he sought to support individuals and groups alongside his own sobriety journey.

He is survived by his daughter, Caroline Elizabeth Wells, sister Elizabeth Neale, and extended family and friends in the United Kingdom and the United States.

A memorial service will be held at Westminster Presbyterian Church 1200 Marquette Ave, Minneapolis on April 29 at 2pm. A livestream of the service will be available through https://www.westminstermpls.org(https://www.westminstermpls.org/).

Memorials may be directed to the William White Irvine Park Maintenance Fund: https://fundraise.givesmart.com/form/7W042w?vid=1pj9pr