The Supreme Life of Byron White
From The Coloradoan
Volume 7, Number 1
August 2002
Hundreds of mourners, including Ted and Ethel Kennedy and five Supreme Court justices, filled Denver's St.John's Cathedral April 19 to mourn the passing of Byron White (A&S'38, HonDocLaw'63), the University of Colorado's most prominent alumnus.
White, 84, an All-America football player and Rhodes Scholar who served on the Supreme Court for 31 years died April 15 in Denver. Appointed to the high court in 1962 at age 44 by his friend and fellow World War II veteran, John F. Kennedy, White had previously been an attorney in Denver and a deputy to U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy in the Justice Department.
One of the few justices already famous before he was named to the court, White first earned a national reputation for his athletic prowess at CU. Much to his chagrin the sports nickname he disliked, "Whizzer," followed him beyond his days as CU's first All-American and the NFL's leading rusher. A .400 hitter in baseball, his favorite sport, and a standout in basketball at CU, White still holds 15 CU football records 65 years after he played. He scored all CU's points in a victory over rival Utah and led the team to an undefeated 1937 season, starring on offense, defense and as a kicker. He ran for 1,121 yards in eight games.
The young man from tiny Wellington also was CU's student body president and posted grades to earn him Phi Beta Kappa status and a Rhodes Scholarship. A modest gentleman who wanted nothing more than to be remembered for his integrity, White was a Renaissance man and role model for every CU alum.
"He was a source of inspiration to me as an African American, as a CU alumnus, as an athlete and as a diplomat," says former U.S. Ambassador and Olympian David Bolen (Econ, MMktg'50). He cited Deputy Attorney General White's role in leading federal marshals into Alabama in 1961 to enforce civil rights laws. "His uncommon courage contributed to the moral and political transformation of American society. Justice White's record of distinguished service echoes across the mountains, plains and valleys of this land."
White is survived by his wife Marion Stearns White (A&S'42) two children, six grandchildren and his brother, fellow Rhodes Scholar Clayton "Sam" White (A&S'34, MD'42), a distinguished physician.
