Trending
Damien L. White of Ashburn, Virginia, passed away at the age of 45 on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023 after an extended illness.
He was surrounded by a large group of people who loved him dearly.
He was preceded in death by Debbie Jo Phillips Tenney (mother), and Billie White (step-mother). He is survived by Larry Mitchel (father), Rick White (father), Daniel White (brother), Molly Reed (sister) and partner Chester Simpson, David Green (step brother) and wife, Amy, Joseph Green (step-brother), Roger Green (step-brother), Kristen White (niece), Allison Nichols (niece) and partner Jacob, Trillian Reed (niece), Eva Reed (niece), Peightyn White (greatniece), Phoenix White (greatnephew), Liam Nichols (greatnephew) and a huge group of friends.
Born in Elkins, West Virginia, Damien graduated from Elkins High School in 1996. After scorching area soccer fields with his cleats, he attended WVU. He started out in the Boreman South dorms, where he met several lifelong friends. Later, he moved to the legendary house at 112 Maryland Street with some childhood friends and various squatters, where many classifed memories took place.
Damien was incredibly smart and admirably (sometimes frustratingly to his friends) self-sufcient. He supported himself through college and graduate school, often working multiple jobs in addition to his packed class schedule. He earned a bachelor of science degree in child psychology, a masters in rehabilitation counseling, and a certifcation as a school counselor in grades K-12. He was a counselor in the Loudoun County Virginia school system for over 18 years, and a lead counselor for the last 4+ years. A countless number of kids (and many adults) came through Damien's office to seek his advice, lean on his shoulder, or see if they could hold their own trash talking with a master (they could not).
He loved his time coaching the Junior Varsity Girls Soccer team at Riverside High School, where he posted an impressive record. He was very caring and perceptive, often letting his actions lead the way. Your Christmas gift in December was probably the result of an off-hand comment he heard you make several months earlier in the year. The reason he could meet your family for dinner in D.C. is because he drove back from Oregon straight through the night when he found out the day before that you were going to be in town.
D loved spending time in the gym lifting weights and was always well put together, with fresh outfts and (especially) a nice pair of sneakers. He had an extensive list of interests and hobbies, reading, riding his mountain bike, tubing down Virginia rivers, kayaking the Cheat River, riding the emotional roller coaster of WVU football and basketball games, going to MLS and WVU soccer matches, playing pickleball on Christmas Eve, going to movies, finding Instagram clips that would crack his friends up, and many more. He would often take off by himself (normally via LONG road trips) on a whim because someone made a comment about blueberry ice cream and Acadia scenery in Maine, heard how great a trip to Yellowstone sounded and decided to check it out for himself, wanted some extra sunshine on the beaches in Miami and Key West, or decided it was time to go to Ireland and have a Guinness at the factory and see the Cliffs of Moers. Damien wrote, "All I ever wanted, was to make people happy." He was a tough nut to crack. But if you did, you experienced first-hand how much he cared about the people in his life. Goal accomplished, D. We will miss you, and never forget you.
Friends and family will be received from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023, at the Tomblyn Funeral Home of Elkins. Graveside services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Mountain State Memorial Gardens at Gilman. Interment will follow.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to Mobile Hope (https://donatenow.networ kforgood.org/mhl), one of Damien's favorite charities, or to the Go Fund Me (https://www.gofund me.com) that was setup to help with Damien's medical expenses and will support a future scholarship in his name.
The Tomblyn Funeral Home of Elkins is in charge of the arrangements for Damien L. White.
Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.tomblynfuneralhome.com.