Friends, family recall his humor, devotion to community.

WESTBROOK – Tim White was not the kind of guy who wanted people to grieve over him.

After the 52-year-old former general superintendent and vice president of White Brothers Construction lost his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – Lou Gehrig’s disease – and pancreatic cancer on Dec. 13, his loved ones were focusing more on what a positive difference he made in the lives of those around him.

“Timmy understood the value of, ‘you put back into the community what you get,’” said his brother, Mike White, from his office at White Brothers on Warren Avenue, the family business that was sold to Lane Construction earlier this year.

The Whites have a history in Westbrook. Their father, Don White, founded their construction company with his brother, Ed, in 1955. Tim White graduated from Westbrook High School, where he held the school’s high jump record.

Mike White said he and his brother both had their “pet projects,” some they did together and others they did on their own.

Tim White, who resided in Yarmouth at the time of his death, led the charge on building outdoor basketball courts there and a skate park in Westbrook. When his daughter died at the age of 17 from cerebral palsy, he helped causes related to that condition; and he served meals at food pantries, gave his time to volunteer efforts and led fundraising for various causes, Mike White said.

“You couldn’t ask for a better family to have residing in your community than the Whites,” Westbrook City Councilor John O’Hara said. “They tenaciously worked to make Westbrook a better place.”

O’Hara said it was difficult to point to one thing Tim White did for the community because he was active in so many ways. White was the kind of man “you’d hope to raise your children to be,” he said.

“We owe a lot of thanks and gratitude to Tim’s ability to work with us,” O’Hara said. “The passing of a great individual has occurred. It’s really tragic and heartbreaking.”

In addition to his community service, White was remembered as someone who liked a good laugh.

“He had a funny bone. He liked to play tricks,” said Planning Board member Rene Daniel, who taught at the old junior high when White was a student.

Daniel served as White’s scoutmaster for Troop 70 at Prides Corner, and recalled a humorous prank that involved White on a national jamboree trip to Butler, Pa.

Daniel recalled getting ready one morning when he saw 10 sets of feet around his tent. His tent then started to move, one foot at a time, he said.

“They were all innocent, of course,” he said.

Daniel said he learned from White to “never takse yourself too seriously,” adding it is a philosophy he wished more people shared.

Tim and Mike White were both adopted sons of Don and Barbara White. Tim’s skinny, 6-foot-5-inch frame lent itself to a joke the brothers liked to play on people.

“Needless to say, I’m not 6-foot-5 and skinny, and we loved telling people we were twins,” Mike White said.

White said his brother was a philosophical man who “wasn’t one to hang on tragedy.” He said Tim would have wanted everyone to move on and be happy with the time they had together.

“It’s very sad, but, you know, it wasn’t a sudden death. So Timmy and I had time to put it all in place,” he said.

Mike White, right, remembers his brother Tim as a man who believed in giving back to the community. Tim White died Dec. 13 at age 52.File photo