Boston Mayor Kevin H. White (1929-2012)

Mayor Kevin White, Mayor of Boston from 1968-1984, passed away on Friday, January 27, 2012, at age 82. He had suffered from Alzheimer's Disease since 2003.

A public wake took place on January 30 at the Parkman House on Beacon Hill, the mayoral mansion where Mayor White held court for his three terms in office (1968-84). His former press secretary George Regan, handled the logistics of the wake, which was attended by thousands of people, from ordinary citizens to elected officials.

A funeral mass was held at St. Cecilia Church in Boston's South End, and White was buried at St Joseph's Cemetery in West Roxbury.

The Irish bagpipe band, Boston Police Gaelic Column of Pipes and Drums, performed at the wake.

On November 1, 2006 the city of Boston unveiled a statue of White on the plaza between Boston City Hall and Faneuil Hall. Read profile on Mayor White and the ceremony here.

White was one of 12 Irish-American mayors elected in Boston, the first being Hugh O'Brien, who served from 1885-88. White's tenure, from 1968-83, was part of an uninterrupted run of Irish-American mayors that ran from 1930 to 1993.

Mayor White's statue is part of Boston's Irish Heritage Trail, a three mile walk of twenty landmarks that tell the story of 300 years of Boston Irish history.

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