Tom White, executive director of The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), was found dead Wednesday (18) morning in a warehouse at the ministry’s headquarters in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. This followed a Bartlesville police investigation into a molestation allegation against White.

Tom White was an English teacher with Triple C school here in the 70’s and it was on a school trip to Costa Rica he met his wife, Maria ‘Ofelia’ and they were married on Dec. 8^th 1973.

While teaching English Mr. White made repeated flights over Cuba, dropping hundreds of thousands of gospels provided by VOM (then called Jesus to the Communist World). The gospel drops were a response to Fidel Castro’s ordered destruction of 100,000 Bibles, which were ground up in sugar mills. In May 1979, Tom’s private plane crashed on a Cuban highway. He was arrested and sentenced to 24 years in prison for his evangelistic work.

During his imprisonment at Combinado del Este Prison, White was able to fellowship with imprisoned leaders of the persecuted church. After many prayers and letters of appeal from U.S. legislators, Mother Teresa and Christians around the world, White was released to be reunited with his family on Oct. 27, 1980.

Tom White’s story of his work and imprisonment is told in his book God’s Missiles over Cuba. White also wrote other books, numerous articles and a monthly column in VOM’s newsletter, which is distributed to more than 500,000 homes in the United States. In addition, he contributed to the million-selling book Jesus Freaks, written by the Christian music group D.C. Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs.

White travelled to more than 100 countries, including many dangerous areas, in order to meet with and deliver aid to persecuted Christians and to document their testimonies for Christians in the West. He was in high demand as a speaker, sharing stories of the many persecuted Christians he met and worked with in his travels. Just weeks before his death, he travelled to China, where he met secretly with underground Bible school students.

White received many honours over the years for his heart and diligence in presenting the plight of the persecuted church. In May 2001, Oklahoma Wesleyan University awarded White an honourary doctorate of ministry for his work on behalf of persecuted Christians worldwide. This award recognised his lifelong contribution — through books, videos and articles — to the body of knowledge about the modern-day persecution of Christians as well as his call to appropriate Christian study and response.

Only a few weeks ago Mr. White was here with his wife in the Cayman Islands and preached at Elmslie United Memorial Church on Harbour Drive, George Town. He also spoke at a dinner given in his honour where the publisher and editor of iNews Cayman were present.

VOM confirmed that: “Allegations were made to authorities this week that Tom had inappropriate contact with a young girl. Rather than face those allegations, and all of the resulting fallout for his family and this ministry and himself, Tom appears to have chosen to take his own life. None of those in leadership at VOM, including our Board of Directors, were aware of these allegations at the time of Tom’s death.”

iNews sends condolences to Mr. White’s wife and family whose death has come at a terrible shock.

Walter Thomas White

Born: October 29, 1947, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Died: April 17, 2012, in Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Wife: Maria ‘Ofelia’ White

Children: Dorothy White and Danny White