Gary Whites, who had been coaching football for more than five decades, passed away on Wednesday. He was 84. Whites had been an assistant coach at Lake Country Christian in Fort Worth alongside head coach and son Wade.
Wade and wife Kelly have three children – McKenna, Hayden and Ryan. McKenna won two state titles in basketball, Hayden was among the top football players – playing running back and defensive back and Ryan is still in high school.
Granddad Whites – or known as Old Man Whites spent most of his time coaching at Burleson High School. He was inducted into the BISD Hall of Fame in 2015. Wade got into coaching at Fort Worth Southwest Christian in the early 2000s and dad followed. The pair had shared the sideline for more than 20 years.
“These have been special years with my dad. I got into coaching because of the love for the game. I grew up watching the difference my dad had made in so many of his players and students’ lives. His players and the men that he has coached with have adored my father. He has always coached for the right reasons and the relationships he has built over the years are lifetime commitments and every player he has ever coached knows it,” Wade said in a story in 2018.
Wade and Gary spent 10 seasons at SCS.
There the Eagles went to two state finals and seven state semifinals.
Wade then arrived to LCCS in 2009.
Gary, who still worked at Southwest Christian, returned to coaching to rejoin Wade. “I loved Burleson, but jumped at a chance to coach with my son again. So when he returned, I wanted to reunite with him. It has been a great ride to not only coach with Wade, but also with the many great coaches over the years,” Gary said in 2018.
Old Man Whites was born in 1939 and graduated from Cleburne HS.
With both Whites, Lake Country went to three state semifinals and played in the 2018 state final.
