John "Jack" and Hilda Sylvia (Maki) While
Life Story
1907 March 28: John "Jack" While the the third son of James and Eliza (Allen) While was born in Netherton, Dudley, Worcestershire England.
1911: John While, age 4, immigrated from England to the United States.
1921: John's father James While was killed in the Union Pacific Coal Company's Hanna No. 4 mine.
1929: Hilda Maki graduated from Hanna High School.
1934 January 20: John While and Hilda Sylvia Maki married in Fort Collins. John was 26 years old at the time. They lived many years in Reliance, Wyoming.
The marriage of Jack While and Hilda Maki was solemnized in the Methodist Church in Fort Collins, Colorado, January 20th. Reverend M. Mitchell performed the ceremony. They were attended by Miss Dorothy Cook and William Triplett, both of Hanna. Miss Dolly While, sister of the groom was also present. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Maki of Hanna and the groom the son of Mrs. Eliza While. They will make their home in Hanna. Mrs. Eliza While served a wedding supper for the party when they returned from Fort Collins. (UPCCEM, Mar. 1935)
The Drum and Bugle Corps entertained at a party at the Community Hall In honor of Mr. and Mrs. Jack While and presented them with a combination electric toaster and waffle iron. (UPCCEM, Mar. 1935)
1975 March 31: John While died in Rock Springs, Wyoming at age 68 and buried in the Rock Springs Memorial Gardens cemetery.
1993 December 9: Hilda Maki died in Rock Springs. She was buried next to her husband John "Jack" While in the Rock Springs cemetery.
John and Hilda had two children:
- John Raynold While. 1935 - 2019. John Raynold was born September 2, 1935, in Hanna, Wyoming. He married Alice Kirk Nov. 26, 1955 in Washington, DC. John died March 16, 2019 in Seven Lakes, North Carolina.
- James Laverne While. 1939 - 2018. James was born December 26, 1939, in Rock Springs. April 14, 1969 he married Jacque E. Mucho in Rock Springs. James died February 2, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah and was buried in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
Reliance and Rock Springs Death Records
Rock Springs Daily Rocket-Miner, Apr 5, 1975
JACK WHILE
Funeral services for John “Jack” While, 68, of House 72, Reliance, will be conducted Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Vase Funeral Home, the Rev. George Mackey of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion officiating. Burial will be in Rest Haven Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be Reno Dellai, Matt Laurunen, Joe Rogers, Alex Clark, Hale Law and Harold Clark.
Honorary pallbearers include Albert Bazzanella, John Korfanta, Chris Delgado, John Wilson, William Welsh and Paul Petro.
Mr. While died Tuesday, March 29 at Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County, where he had been a patient one week. He had been in ill health since January.
Born in England, March 28, 1907, he was the son of the late James and Eliza Allen While.
He was married to the former Hilda Maki at Ft. Collins, Colo., Jan. 20, 1934. Mr. While had resided in Hanna until 1936 when he moved to Winton, where he lived until moving to Reliance in 1955.
He was a retired receiving clerk for FMC Corp. and also had worked as a butcher for the Union Pacific Coal Co. Store 32 years prior to his employment at FMC. He was a member of the Rock Springs Bowling Association.
Surviving are his widow, Hilda of Rock Springs; two sons and daughters-in-law, John R. and Alice While of Laurel, Md. And James L. and Jacque While of Rock Springs; one brother, Sam of Arbuckle, Calif.; three sisters, Mrs. Mark (Edith) Lee of Arbuckle, Calif., Mrs. Clyde (Sarah) Marion of Walnut Creek, Calif., and Mrs. Kenneth (Alice) Geide of Orinda, Calif.; six grandsons and several nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by one sister, Kay, and one brother, Joe. (Rock Springs Daily Rocket-Miner, Apr. 5, 1975: Ancestry.com)
Rock Springs Daily Rocket-Miner, Dec. 16, 1993
HILDA SYLVIA WHILE
Funeral services for Hilda Sylvia While were conducted at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, 1993 at the Vase Funeral Chapel in Rock Springs. The Rev. Fred Wendel of the SS. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church officiated. Interment was in the Rest Haven Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers were Ronald Welch, Joseph Rogers, Eugene Tarufelli, Roy L. Gimlin, Dennis Pineda and Henry Krause.
Mrs. While, 82, of 1409 Main St., Reliance, died at 7:25 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 9, 1993 at the Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County where she had been a patient since Dec. 6.
A longtime resident of Reliance and former resident of Winton and Hanna, Mrs. While had been in ill health the past year.
She was born Feb. 11, 1911 in Elmo, the daughter of the late Isaac and Mary Maki. She attended schools in Hanna and was a graduate of Hanna High School with the class of 1929.
She married John “Jack” While in Fort Collins, Colo. Jan. 20, 1934 and he preceded her in death April 1, 1975.
Mrs. While was a past member of Pythian Sisters and a member of the VFW Auxiliary.
Survivors include two sons and daughters-in-law, James L. and Jacque While of Rock Springs and John R. and Alice While of Columbia, Md.; six grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; three sisters-in-law and several nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents and husband, Mrs. While was preceded in death by one brother and two sisters. (Rock Springs Daily Rocket, Dec. 16, 1993: Ancestry.com)