USC football great Charles White was fittingly recalled – Orange County Register
LAKE FOREST — The life of Charles White was celebrated Saturday with exactly the kind of pomp and circumstance the former USC running back would have liked.
The memorial service for White, who died of cancer last month at the age of 64, was decorated with cardinal and gold flowers surrounding his urn and painted with his school’s colors. Pictures from the career of the 1979 Heisman Trophy winner lined Saddleback Church. And the Trojan band performed for family and friends as they entered and exited the auditorium.
“Charles loved ‘SC. It was in his blood,” former Trojans quarterback Paul McDonald told the assembled mourners. “For those of us in the crowd who had to experience that, there was nothing like walking down the Coliseum tunnel before a game. He wore his Trojans tracksuit until his final days on this planet. He loved ‘SC’.”
Numerous USC luminaries gathered to celebrate White, who remains USC’s lead rusher to this day. Anthony Davis, Ronnie Lott and Mike Garrett were among the dozens of former Trojans who gathered before and after the service to share and swap stories about the Trojan legend.
The service opened with applause for White. James Brown’s “Super Bad” ran over a highlight reel of White’s USC career, punctuated by images of the running back’s life with his family. Speakers shared stories of his athletic accomplishments, from middle school coaches in the San Fernando Valley waiving his signup fees to his legendary performance against Ohio State in the 1980 Rose Bowl.
“Was there anyone, pound for pound and inch for inch, tougher than Charles White?” asked Pete Arbogast, the longtime voice of USC radio, which was a student station during White’s college career. “Certainly not very big, but no bigger heart has ever been there to wear the USC football uniform.”
White has faced his fair share of difficulties in life, from addiction to dementia, and speakers on Saturday were honest about those challenges, which led to a split from his ex-wife Judi White-Basch, with whom White had five children.
But the two never completely gave up on their relationship. White-Basch stayed by White’s side throughout his battle with cancer.
When White suddenly lost 25 pounds and doctors wouldn’t take him to the ER because his blood results were negative, it was White-Basch who called USC athletic director Mike Bohn. Within hours, Bohn had assembled a team of USC Keck doctors to help White through his illness.
“You took care of my brother to the last breath,” White’s half-brother, James Gordon, told White-Basch. “Until the last breath.”
White-Basch focused on a different aspect than her ex-husband’s final days. White-Basch spoke about White’s positivity in his final days alongside her daughter Tara, who was wearing White’s USC varsity jacket.
“The man was a hero. He never complained. He asked us how we were doing,” said White-Basch. “We’d say, ‘How are you, Charles?’ ‘One hundred percent.'”
But after her complicated story, White-Basch concluded her remarks with one final lesson from White: forgiveness.
“I’ve got some stories, man,” White-Basch said to laughter from the congregation. “But this man loved me. He would have given his life for me, I would have given my life for him. And we’re honored to share what most people don’t share. And it was forgiveness and pure love. But we had to get to the point where we leave this earth to do that with each other. I beg you to love the person you stand next to and forgive.”
https://www.ocregister.com/2023/02/11/usc-football-great-charles-white-remembered-in-fitting-fashion/ USC football great Charles White was fittingly recalled – Orange County Register