Lewis Richard White Sr., age 79, of Virginia Beach, VA, passed away peacefully in his home, surrounded by family, on December 20, 2025.

Born and raised in Suffolk, VA, Lewis was the middle son of Lewis Rights White and Ellen Babb White. While growing up in Suffolk, Lewis met his future wife, Mary Pelham Hutton.

Lewis graduated from Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in 1968 with a degree in civil engineering. He began his career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, contributing to the assessment of Hurricane Camille’s impact in Nelson County, VA. He later entered private practice and went on to found Lewis White and Associates, which provided civil engineering services across Virginia and North Carolina for 24 years. His firm focused on water quality and stormwater management and was instrumental in the siting of cellular towers in the Hampton Roads region.

He concluded his engineering career with Parsons Brinckerhoff, now WSP, where he dedicated himself to advancing the field of bacterial source tracking and enhancing water quality in rivers, streams, and estuaries. He also played a pivotal role in addressing climate change, particularly in relation to coastal flooding caused by increased precipitation, storm surge, and rising sea levels. As a leader in this area, he emphasized the urgent need for developing adaptation and accommodation measures to mitigate these effects and protect vulnerable coastal communities.

Beyond his professional achievements, Lewis was deeply committed to his community. He was an active member of Virginia Beach Friends Meeting, served on the Virginia Beach Friends School Committee, and, upon retiring from engineering, taught high school physics at Virginia Beach Friends School. He also treasured time at his beach house in Duck, NC, and was a devoted dog lover.

Lewis had a lifelong love of sports. He excelled at multiple sports in high school, was a diver on the VMI swim team, and later coached youth soccer teams. In later years, he especially loved to walk. The coordination and dexterity he developed through athletics served him well as he aged, allowing him to remain active even while living with parkinsonism symptoms.

Lewis is survived by his wife of 55 years, Mary Pelham Hutton White; his son, Lewis Richard White, Jr., and daughter-in-law, Maricruz López Martínez, of Huajuapan de León, Mexico; his daughter, Anne Kendrick White of Charlottesville, VA; his sister, Alice Llewellyn Trainer (John) of Jacksonville, FL; his brother, Herbert Franklin White (Leslie) of Earlysville, VA; and many extended family members and friends.

The family is deeply grateful to Derrick Flood and Donna Moss for their compassionate care and the guidance of Steve Panus. A Celebration of Life will be held at 1pm on Saturday, February 28, 2026, at Virginia Beach Friends Meeting, 1537 Laskin Road, Virginia Beach, VA. A reception will follow at Atlantic Shores Retirement Community at 2:30pm in the Magnolia Room. For those that cannot attend the service in person, participation via Zoom is available, Meeting ID: 879 1203 5277; Password: 993505. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Virginia Beach Friends School or the charity of your choice. Please offer your fondest condolences to the family in this very difficult time on the Cremation Society of Virginia website.