White, Gregory LaBonté died unexpectedly Saturday, June 11 at his home in Dedham, MA. Born in Washington, D.C. on July 29th, 1958, he was educated in New York State at Ithaca High School and graduated Hamilton College in 1981 with a degree in Modern Languages. After receiving his law degree from Boston University, Greg began his career as an attorney at Hutchins and Wheeler in Boston, MA. He then moved to Peabody and Arnold. In 1999, Greg co-founded Chappell White, a boutique law firm based in Boston’s burgeoning Seaport district and engaged in the representation of start-up and emerging growth companies. Fueled by Greg’s passion and vision, his boutique firm grew rapidly until 2001 when the firm’s lawyers and staff joined Seyfarth Shaw LLP, an international firm with multiple offices across the globe. As a Seyfarth partner, Greg led the corporate group of the Firm’s Boston office for 14 years, and more recently helped conceive and build the Firm’s nationally recognized EB-5 Immigration Investment Group. Greg was a frequent speaker and writer of articles on securities matters relating to EB-5 transactions.
Greg’s spirit spanned the globe. Growing up, he and his siblings spent summers at Keewaydin, a canoeing and expedition camp on Lake Dunmore in Salisbury, Vermont, as a camper and staffman, a tradition that his children continue to this day. A Rotary Exchange brought Greg to Stavanger, Norway in 1976. There, he broke the mold of the monolingual American by forcing his friends and himself to communicate solely in Norwegian. For the rest of his life, he welcomed every opportunity to start conversing in Norwegian with anyone who showed possible signs of familiarity with the language. In 1979, he met his wife, Hunter, when they were students together in Paris, France for the year. More recently, Greg traveled frequently on business to all corners of the globe.
His linguistic interests later drew him to French, German, and Canadian literature, a passion he shared with his wife Hunter, a French teacher at Roxbury Latin, and his daughter Susannah, during her study at McGill University in Montréal. Greg was also an avid reader of history with a special interest in and deep knowledge of the American Revolutionary and Civil Wars.
Greg was a caring neighbor and a committed citizen of Dedham. He loved coaching his children and other children from our community in Dedham Youth Hockey for which he served as President for two years. A former college lacrosse player, he also co-founded the Dedham Youth Lacrosse program with the goal of growing a varsity team for Dedham High School.
Greg cherished the time he spent at home with his family and friends in Dedham or Shoreham, VT. Greg brought the world in. With a backdrop of Norwegian novels, tomes of French poetry, and works of American history, Greg was quick to offer his hand and a meal to anyone entering his home. Lively debates about politics, film, literature and life soon followed with Greg’s sense of humor usually on display. As the evenings warmed up, a glance out from the living room might catch Greg roaring with laughter under the light in the backyard, beaming with happiness and surrounded by loved ones.
Greg will be remembered for his generosity, whether in his willingness to engage a stranger in friendly conversation, in his open-door policy for extended family and friends passing through the Boston area, or in his many contributions to charitable organizations including RettSyndrome.org.
He is survived by his loving wife, Hunter; five children, Eamon (30), Christopher (27), Susannah (23), Peter (20) and Zechariah (20); mother, Mary; father, Marc; sister, Hope; and brothers, Marc, Jr. (and Stephanie), Peter (and Mary), Christopher (and Sofi), and Nicholas (and Max), as well as several nieces and nephews.
Visiting hours will be held from 4 – 8 p.m. on Friday, June 17 at George F. Doherty and Sons, Wilson-Cannon Funeral Home (456 High St.) in Dedham, MA. A funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 18 at St. Paul’s Church (29 Mt. Auburn St.) in Cambridge, MA. Interment in St. Genevieve Cemetery, Shoreham, VT. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a scholarship fund established in Greg's name via check to the Keewaydin Foundation in memory of Gregory L. White, 950 West Shore Road, Salisbury VT 05769 or through Keewaydin.org.