Birth date: Oct 31, 1947 Death date: May 21, 2026
Keith David White, beloved husband, father, brother, scientist, teacher, inventor, musician, and lifelong seeker of knowledge, passed away on May 21st, 2026 at the age of 78. Keith was born on October 31, 1947, in Salem, Ohio. He Read Obituary
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I’m so grateful that Keith was my mentor in grad school at UF. His enthusiasm for discovery, relentless pursuit of knowledge, and commitment to cultivating his student’s intellectual curiosity enriched my life tremendously.
He had a seemingly encyclopedic depth of knowledge on just about any topic. That is impressive enough, but what made his intellect sparkle- was how he could weave seemingly unrelated phenomena to deepen his student’s understanding of the world. Saccadic eye movement during Ayahuasca use? He could deliver a perfectly cogent and interesting lecture on the topic extemporaneously. In the more emergent field that I studied, arts in medicine, his experience as a musician and expertise in neurobiology made our work together all the richer. As a non-traditional graduate student who had a circuitous, non-academic career, he helped me feel at home in the psych lab. It is an honor to have learned from him and to have been his friend.
To date, his scholarship has been cited in nearly 4,000 academic papers. His legacy will include generations of scholars who will continue to build on his rigorous academic work, as well as friends who will be strengthened by memories of him.
Dr. Keith White was a long-time member of the Brain Rehabilitation Research Center scientific team. His deep humility was in beautiful contrast to his intellectual brilliance and innovative capabilities. His career was astounding in its breadth and importance to the field of neuroscience and brain function. Even after he submitted his original retirement intentions, he was willing to be persuaded to continue to as a valued advisor, an essential team member for the successful continued growth and evolution of the Center’s scope of scientific endeavor. I am grateful to have been a colleague and to have known him.
Dr. Janis J Daly, former Director, Brain Rehabilitation Research Center
Keith was among the brightest, and kindest, of our many colleagues in the Psychology Department at UF, where we worked together in the Cognitive and Sensory Studies area for decades. Among all the memories, I think I smile the most at recalling being a pilot subject in one of his balance-defying experiments on the interaction between vision and "body sense." In one version, we had to stand on one foot and close our eyes, and he tracked sway (and eventual collapse) with an early version of motion detection of his own design. In another condition, you had to gaze at a trance-inducing spinning pattern. I wanted to set the record for maintaining balance, but failed miserably, though Keith kindly said I was still above average. More recently, I deeply enjoyed our weekly Zoom meetings, the last remnant of Ken Heilman's Center for Neuropsychological Studies, which had spanned both our careers. I loved reminiscing about old technology and marveling at new science, as we tried to impress the several passionate students who attended the meetings. (When the meetings ended - last year? - Keith and I were the only remaining faculty on the calls.) I was able to observe Keith's remarkable commitment and concern for the students and the projects he was mentoring, and admired him as much for that as I did for his breathtaking knowledge of neuroanatomy and neuroscience. He really did seem to know everything. I learned a great deal too about conditions like Parkinsonism and the latest research on understanding and treating a wide variety of disorders. I'm sure his memory will be a blessing for all.
These two photos are from Ken Heilman's weekly lab meeting at the Gainesville VAMC. I don't know what year, maybe 2014, thereabouts. Keith is explaining virtual reality to Jim Austin, the gentleman wearing the Oculus device. Dr. Austin used to visit UF every year. He is a neurologist who trained in Boston with Geschwind and Denny-Brown, as did Ken. It took me a bit of time to find this. But, I remember it well. Dr. White was very interested in technology. I learned a lot from Keith. He was amongst the first people I met at UF/BRRC. We most frequently interacted at that table in the pic in E460 at the VA during Heilman's lab meeting on Friday afternoons. I've only recently removed it from my calendar. Many interesting discussions were had and with lots of interesting people and Keith was a stalwart presence. I miss it and I'll miss Keith.
Things I appreciated about Keith. Broad curiosity. Obvious intelligence, a thoughtful demeanor, and true kindness.
Keith was quite simply the purest scientist and most forthright I have ever known. His encyclopedic knowledge of cognitive neuroscience was unrivaled, but his greatest contribution to his students was his heartfelt passion for developing his students' character. Those of us privileged to train under Keith were treated by his steady leadership, kind-heartedness, good humor, and his outstanding example of seeking truth. The world will miss him dearly. A great man.
I admired Keith’s optimism and willingness to keep working despite the odds stacked against him. He never complained and improved. I still remember the first time I cared for him: how hard he worked through recovery and how determined he was to get back to work. He truly loved what he did. Watching that perseverance was inspiring. Send condolences to his wife, sons, and sister who I had the pleasure of getting to know during his time with us.
Josh Wilson.
