Linual Anthony White, Jr., 62, retired Fire Chief for the City of Lompoc, died peacefully on December 6, 2017 surrounded by his loving family and friends.

Linual was born on September 7, 1955, the youngest of five children of Linual and Ann White. He was raised in Imperial County, 12 miles from the Mexican border. It was there that he learned the value of hard work as a farm laborer. Linual decided that to advance in life he needed a college education. He began a 10-year effort to obtain a degree while working full time, raising a family and going to school at night and on weekends.

His career as a firefighter began in 1977 with the El Centro Fire Department. He transferred to the Escondido Fire Department where he served with that agency for one year. He then returned to El Centro and served for 25 years as a firefighter, arson investigator, engineer, captain, battalion chief and fire marshal. In 2002, after a vigorous testing process, he was selected as the fire chief for the city of Lompoc. He led the Lompoc Fire Department from 2002 until his retirement in 2009. His contributions to the Fire Department and the Lompoc community were numerous, and he is remembered as a skilled, ethical and fair leader.

Linual was blessed to meet and marry his wife, Carol, in 1992. Their blended family consisted of five children and nine grandchildren. When Linual and Carol moved to Lompoc, they made an agreement that this was not just going to be a place to work, or a stepping stone to somewhere else, but rather this was now their new home and they were going to become an integral part of this community.

Linual lead a life of service, both professionally and personally. He volunteered in the Kiwanis Club and cofounded the Turducken Dinner Group, which raised over $400,000 for the Lompoc library. He served on the board of trustees for the Lompoc, Buellton, and Vandenberg Village libraries, and was a citizen advisory board member for Allan Hancock Community College. He sat on the executive board for the Lompoc Valley Community Healthcare Organization, and was an affiliate for the Santa Barbara Foundation assisting in the issuance of scholarships to students in the Lompoc Valley. Linual ran for and was elected to serve on the Lompoc Hospital District board of directors. He was a valued member of the Lompoc Valley Club, and he founded an informal dinner group of seafood enthusiast friends called the Lompoc Crustaceans.

In 2015, Linual was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer and told he had six months to a year to live. He faced and fought this insidious disease with great courage and dignity for more than two years. His stated goal throughout this ordeal was to wake up each morning and be the best person he could possibly be that day, and then to wake up the next morning and be an even better person. He achieved that goal and will always be remembered as the epitome of a kind and decent man by those who were fortunate enough to know and love him.

Linual was predeceased by his parents and brother, Jan. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn, daughters Allison and Lauryn, his son Linual III, stepsons Rick and Jeff Sprague, his sisters Linda, Jennifer and Terrya, and nine grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, December 15, 2017 at 11:00 am at La Purisima Catholic Church, 213 West Olive Avenue, Lompoc.