Known for his civic-mindedness, business savvy and generosity, former Elgin store owner David White died Friday, Sept. 19, at age 87.
White and his wife, Carol, owned David’s Fashions in Elgin and DeKalb as well as Carol D’s in Elgin. He also purchased his father’s Elgin shoe store in 1979 and expanded it to locations in DeKalb, Rolling Meadows and Antioch, his family said.
But for them, it was the help he offered to others that they’ll remember him for, White’s daughter Christine Groves said.
“My father quietly supported families in need by adopting families for holiday gifts, buying dinners for Elgin’s homeless and leaving groceries for people he knew could use them,” Grove said.
Her father frequently connected people to jobs, offered business advice and was a friendly presence at Elgin’s Wing Park Golf Course, she said.
“He hosted legendary Christmas Eve parties where Santa Claus visited and everyone — family, friends, neighbors and anyone in need — was welcome,” Groves said
According to stories that ran in The Courier-News reports, the family’s local business roots started with White’s father, Tony, who ran Ettner’s Shoes in Elgin from 1948 to 1959 before opening Tony White Shoes in Elgin in 1959, where his son worked alongside him.
White branched out to open his own businesses in 1971 with his wife, Carol, and became active in Elgin, Groves said.
“In the late 1970s, my father helped form the Elgin Downtown Association — known as the Downtowners — a business group created to revitalizing downtown Elgin in response to new competition from Woodfield Mall,” she said. “He was active in local politics, supporting and advising mayoral and city council candidates who shared his vision for the city.”
White closed his shoe stores in 1989 and founded National Independent Retailers the same year, according to stories in the Chicago Tribune.
“He transformed a Midwest buying group into a nationwide network of thousands of independent shoe stores that gave small businesses the buying power to compete with big department chains,” grandson Rudy Zabran said. “Under my grandfather’s leadership, the White family business grew to involve four generations, with his wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren all contributing to the enterprise.”
In addition to being remembered for his accomplishments, White was known for his infectious humor, guiding wisdom, and stressing the importance of integrity and the value of your word, Zabran said.
In addition to his daughter and grandson, White is surved by his wife; daughters Laurianne White and Denise Lorman; 14 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; and sister Teresa Lobianco. He was preceded in death by his son, Michael David White.
A funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 25, at St. Laurence Catholic Church, 225 Jewett St., Elgin. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, at the Laird Funeral Home, 310 S. State St., Elgin, and 9:45 to 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the church.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.