Tributes paid to Dick White

They turned out in their droves. People lined the streets of South Molton on a damp and grey morning, to pay their last respects to well-known local figure Dick White.

“My dad touched the lives of many, many people over the years. They certainly broke the mould when our dad, grandad, stepdad, husband, brother and friend to many, was made,” said his daughter Shani. “He was one of a kind, a truly wonderful man.”

“He was very much a family man,” his wife Jane told Molton Monthly. “He was always at the heart of the community, and always doing something for someone.”

‘Dicko’, as he was known to many, passed away aged 70 on December 9th.

The late Dick White

As a young man he played football for North Molton, Bishops Nympton and Chittlehampton, and later was a referee.

Always active, you might have found him cutting the grass on the football and cricket pitches. He was on the committee at North Molton Sports Club for many years, where he became chairman.

He even helped lay the foundations and start building the sports hall, and went on to run the bar - all this while running his own business DW Bodyworks, which is now run by his son Adam.

Dick was also well known as a football manager, especially the North Molton ladies’ team. Many will also remember him as an active member and president of the Lions Club of South Molton.

For a decade he was landlord of the New Inn in South Molton, “a dream come true” said his wife Jane. Later he could be found serving with a smile at both the town’s rugby and Conservative clubs.

Dick White was laid to rest after a service at North Devon Crematorium on December 18th. His funeral cortege drove through South Molton, including passing the site of his beloved New Inn (pictured right).

Donations were made to the charity Prostate Cancer UK, including more than £400 raised by locals at The Coaching Inn.

Hundreds of tributes poured in on social media. Paul Brown said, “RIP Dicko. A friend of my family and a former neighbour. Glad to see he got a good send off, a really lovely guy who will be missed by many.”

Dick’s cortege passes the former New Inn Photo: South Molton Photos “He will be sorely missed. He was loved by so many,” said Gigi Kingdon.

Liz Bulled added, “RIP Dicko. He was such a lovely man.”

“The amount of people lining the streets was truly humbling,” said Claire Harris.

Chris Hosker wrote, “RIP Dicko - a great and wonderful person.”