Frank D. White

Frank Durward White
Born	Durward Frank Kyle Jr. (1933-06-04) 4 June 1933 Texarkana, Bowie County, Texas, U.S.
Died	21 May 2003(2003-05-21) (aged 69) Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Politician, banker
Years active	1961–2003
Known for	41st Governor of Arkansas (1981–1983)

Frank Durward White (originally named Durward Frank Kyle Jr.; June 4, 1933 – May 21, 2003) was an American politician and banker who held the office of 41st governor of Arkansas for one term lasting two years, from 1981 until 1983.

Early life, family background, and education

Born on June 4, 1933, in Texarkana, located in Bowie County, Texas, White’s birth name was Durward Frank Kyle Jr. Following the death of his father when he was seven years old, his mother remarried Loftin E. White from Highland Park, Texas, whose last name he subsequently adopted. After his stepfather passed away in 1950, the family relocated back to Texarkana. White pursued studies at the New Mexico Military Institute before gaining admission to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where he earned an engineering degree upon graduating in 1956. He then served as a pilot in the United States Air Force, including missions transporting members of the 101st Airborne Division during the 1957 Little Rock Integration Crisis. He left military service in 1961 holding the rank of Captain.

White’s first marriage was to Mary Blue Hollenberg, who came from a well-established Little Rock family; together they had three children before divorcing in 1973. Two years later, in 1975, he wed Gay Daniels; the couple later assumed custody of his children from his previous marriage.

Raised as a Baptist at Beech Street First Baptist Church in Texarkana—a congregation later led by Mike Huckabee—White eventually departed from the liberal First United Methodist Church in Little Rock to help establish the fundamentalist Fellowship Bible Church in 1977.

Professional career

Following his discharge from the Air Force in 1961, White began working at Merrill Lynch in Little Rock before moving to Commercial National Bank in 1973. Between 1972 and 1973, he served as the inaugural director of the Little Rock Port Authority.

In 1975, Governor David Pryor appointed him as director of the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission (AIDC). White left this position two years later and became president of Capital Savings and Loan Co.

1980 election

At the start of 1980, White changed his political affiliation from Democrat to Republican to pursue the governorship. He secured the Republican nomination by defeating former State Representative Marshall Chrisman from Ozark with a commanding 71.8% of the vote during a low-turnout open primary. Incumbent Bill Clinton encountered an unexpectedly strong challenge in the Democratic primary from Monroe Schwarzlose, who garnered 31% of votes—indicating potential weaknesses for Clinton.

White engaged Tulsa-based Paula Unruh as his campaign manager and concentrated on criticizing Clinton’s unpopular increase in automobile registration fees along with opposition to the Carter administration’s decision to relocate Cuban refugees to a detention facility at Fort Chaffee. This approach resonated with voters: White won the general election with 51.9% (435,684 votes) compared to Clinton’s 48.1% (403,242 votes), carrying fifty-one out of seventy-five counties—a significant improvement over the six counties won by Clinton’s Republican opponent A. Lynn Lowe in 1978.

This victory made White only the second Republican governor elected in Arkansas since the Reconstruction era.

Tenure

During his time in office, White enacted legislation requiring Arkansas public schools to teach creationism alongside evolutionary theory. This statute was later invalidated in 1982 by the court ruling McLean v. Arkansas. Additionally, in 1981, White sparked intra-party debate by appointing former Democratic governor Orval Faubus as head of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs.

1982 and 1986 campaigns

White was unable to secure reelection, encountering primary opposition in 1982 from Chrisman and nutrition expert Connie Voll, who became the first woman to pursue the Republican nomination for governor in Arkansas. In the general election, Clinton defeated White once again, with a margin of 54.7% to 45.3%, as White carried only nineteen counties amid a nationwide economic downturn.

White made another bid for governor in 1986 but was defeated by a wide margin.

Later career and death

After his 1986 loss, White resumed his role as senior vice president at First Commercial Bank in Little Rock until his retirement in 1998. He opted not to run for governor in 1990, choosing instead to support Sheffield Nelson’s campaign against Tommy F. Robinson. Clinton won a fifth term that year and was elected President two years later. Due to limited campaign resources, White withdrew from electoral politics but remained engaged within Republican circles.

Between 1998 and 2003, White held the position of Arkansas Banking Commissioner under Governor Mike Huckabee, gaining recognition for personally inspecting every state-chartered bank annually. He passed away from a heart attack in 2003 at age 69 and was interred at Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock.

Since 2006, the Arkansas Republican Party has honored individuals with its highest accolade, the "Hi, I'm Frank White" award.

See also

• List of governors of Arkansas

External links

• Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry: Frank White
• Finding Aid, Frank White Papers, UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture

Further reading

• Arkansas Gazette, August 5, November 13, 22, 1981; October 29, December 5, 1982.
• Who's Who in the South and Southwest, 18th edition (1982–1983), p. 803.
• Arkansas Election Statistics, 1980 and 1982 (Little Rock: Secretary of State).
• Shreveport Times, January 7, 1982.