(already subscribe? log in).

Kevin H. White remembered across Boston

THIS STORY APPEARED IN

January 29, 2012|By Peter Schworm

Mayor Thomas M. Menino offered his respects at former Mayor Kevin H. White's… (Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff )

From civic leaders to longtime residents, tributes poured in from across the city today for former mayor Kevin H. White, who died last night at his Beacon Hill home.

White will be remembered at a wake on Tuesday and a funeral Mass on Wednesday.

At the bronze statue of White at Faneuil Hall today, Mayor Thomas M. Menino left a basket of flowers addressed from “the people of the city of Boston.”

In Roxbury, residents praised him for his handling of the busing crisis during the 1970s.

“He really did a lot for the neighborhoods,” said Tracey Young, 46, who was bused from Roxbury to East Boston as a child. “It’s sad he died, but he left behind a lot that his family can be proud of.”

White, who served as mayor from 1968 to 1984, was 82. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease about a decade ago.

Young’s boyfriend, Kevin McKoy, 49, said White was a regular presence in the neighborhood.

“You saw him walking these streets a lot. He pushed a whole lot of positive things,” he said. “Any white politician that will come into this neighborhood, a black neighborhood, and see what’s going on and try to make changes, I’m for him.”

In South Boston, residents recalled White as a “real force in the city.”

“White completely revitalized business in Boston,” said Neil Regan, 52, who was a student during the busing crisis. Regan said White “didn’t do as good as job as he could have,” during the busing crisis, but added that “it would have been tough for anyone.”

A wake for White will be held Tuesday from 2-8 p.m. at the Parkman House on Beacon Street. The public is invited.

A funeral Mass will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at St. Cecilia Parish in the Back Bay. Robert Crane, a close friend and former state treasurer, Menino, and White’s son Mark are expected to deliver eulogies.

Burial will be private.