Aaron Theodore White, who was born at Fairfax Hospital in Northern Virginia on New Year’s Eve in 1987 was the last baby born in the hospital that year.
He died quite tragically early on the morning of December 5, 2016. He lived in the City of Falls Church throughout his short life.
His family said that, “We want the world to remember him for the love he brought into it, for his kindness, his sense of fun, and his ability to bring people together.
“We believe that the essence of Aaron was so real and accepting of others that people could not help but love him. His curiosity, his mischievousness, his interactions with all of the people who touched his life, made him someone people wanted to share with and be with.”
Aaron attended Falls Church City Public Schools throughout his grade school career. Before that, he went to preschool at Falls Church Presbyterian Church. In the years after he graduated from George Mason High School, he took classes at Northern Virginia Community College.
His father, Ted White, who is the copy editor for the News-Press, said, “He was into so many things and he had so many friends and it’s just…” After he trailed off, he made a sound of exasperation.
At the time of his death, Aaron worked at T-Mobile and before that he worked at Game Stop for several years. He was the resident game expert at Game Stop, which grew out of his lifelong love of video games.
“He had a good work ethic,” Ted said. “He always pleased the people he worked for.”
At one point, Aaron talked about getting into veterinary work. The Foster Farm in West Virginia posted on Facebook on Friday, Dec. 9 that a friend of Aaron’s made a donation to the organization in his honor, saying, “he loved animals.”
His father confirmed that he loved animals. He owned a pair of black cats and co-owned a small dog for several years with a former girlfriend.
Aaron was also a big man of music, even playing an instrument as a child. He always heard music being played, whether live or recorded, growing up and his brother Spencer took him to punk shows when he was younger. He recently went to see the band STRFKR at the 9:30 Club.
Another love of Aaron’s was nature. He would spend weekends camping at his friend Chris’ Stony Brook Farm in Syria, Va.
Aaron recently traveled to see his then girlfriend Lisa in Ireland. He often came over to his father Ted’s house at least twice a week to catch up and listen to music.
The Tuesday after he got back from Ireland, he was at his father’s house, as was the News-Press, for a feature about his father’s life growing up in Falls Church and life’s work as a writer. The two sat across the room from each other while Aaron debriefed his father on his adventures in Ireland.
A memorial service for Aaron was held at the National Funeral Home Chapel on Saturday, Dec. 10. The chapel was packed with more than 200 people – the sanctuary was standing room only and there was overflow into the vestibule, which was also filled.
Several people spoke about their love for Aaron and the memories they made with him at the service. A wake at Ireland’s Four Provinces followed the service.
“That was the overwhelming message of everyone in the room. We all loved Aaron. He had no enemies. He brought joy into all their lives – so many lives. Many tears were shed,” Ted said to a group of his friends in an email the day of the service.
“People I knew only by name hugged me and told me how much he’d spoken of me, always with love and admiration.” Aaron is survived by a large extended family and hundreds of friends who will miss him very much.