Commonly called J.T., of State College, died November 21, 2005, at the Geisinger Medical Center. Son of Joe Roy and Mary C. Smith White, he was born in Wadley, Ga., July 10, 1920. His parents were cotton farmers. The Great Depression and crop failures caused the family to lose the farm and move to Detroit, Mich. J.T. attended River Rouge High School, where he excelled in sports. He was named all-state center, captain of the basketball team and high school boxing champion. He was forced to drop out of high school in his senior year to support his mother, brother and sister, after the early death of his father. By working at the Great Lakes Steel Mill, he was able to attend night school.He joined the Ohio State Buckeyes under Paul Brown, head football coach. He played at Ohio State for 1941-1942. The team that won the 1942 national championship. During that year, he played defensive end against his own brother who was the first string half back for the University of Michigan. His football career was interrupted in 1943 by World War II. He became a sergeant in the U.S. field artillery unit and was stationed at Fort Bragg, Texas and played on a military football team known as the Fort Bragg "Bombardiers." In reality, most of the players were the 1942 National Champion Ohio State team. He was transferred to Camp Hood, where he was the sports director of the Army Corps and he played basketball for a team that took second place in the AAU basketball tournament. At the end of World War II, he played center on the University of Michigan team that in 1947 won the national championship at the Rose Bowl. It has been said J.T. was the only player that ever played football for two different schools on National Championship teams. Following graduation, he pursued coaching as a profession. He was invited to be an assistant line coach at the University of Michigan. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions and Brooklyn Dodgers. HE chose coaching instead. He received his masters in Education from Michigan. When Ernie McCoy, who was also at the University of Michigan, was appointed the new Athletic Director at Penn State, he invited J.T. to come with him and coach under Rip Engle. He then coached under Joe Paterno. At Penn State, he coached defensive ends and interior defensive line. He coached All American defensive tackles Bruce Clark and Matt Millen and middle guard Randy Sitler, a 1977 first team all American. He became the Defensive Coordinator at PSU when Jim O’Hora retired in 1977. He also developed several All American defensive ends including Dave Robinson and Bruce Bannon. After 30 years of loyal service at Penn State, he retired in 1982. He was married over 50 years to the former Verna McQueen, until her death in 1997. Also preceding him in death was a brother, who died in early childhood; a brother, Paul White and a sister, Bea Slebodnik. He is survived by one son, Brian C. White and his wife Dawn, of rural Linden Hall; and two granddaughters, Lisa D. White and husband Eric Burkhart, of Pine Grove Mills and Susan White Stewart and her husband John Andrew Stewart, of Marietta, Ga. He has one great-grandson, John William Stewart, born in 2005.