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ELKINS -- A 99-year-old Elkins military veteran still celebrates Father's Day every year with his three sons.
Zan White, a resident at Mountain Memories Assisted Living & Retirement Center, has been celebrating Father's Day for 51 years and still feels fondly about the holiday.
"I always appreciate my sons coming to visit every year, and calling and sending cards when they can't," White told The Inter-Mountain.
White's three sons, Zan Jr, Benjamin and Robert, visited their father a week early for Father's Day this year.
"They always come down early since they're fathers and grandfathers now too," said White, "They get to celebrate on their own now."
He then proudly explained that he has six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
White admitted sadly that he did not get to celebrate Father's Day with his own father. The day was not officially recognized as a national holiday until 1972, despite being created and celebrated by the state of Washington in 1910. Mother's Day was made a national holiday in 1914.
Born in 1924, White's family moved from Job to Elkins when he was one year old. He jokes that he spent the first 16 years of his life in prison, as his father worked as a jailor.
White later served as a member of the United States Army Air Corps and Army Reserves in World War II. He was featured in The Inter-Mountain's Unsung Heroes series in 2018, which featured veterans from the area sharing first-hand accounts of their military service.
White still drives and still attends church services.