Jerry White helped turn Waukesha's White House of Music into a local icon. His family is carrying on that legacy.

WAUKESHA - Jerry White certainly had a way with music, but he also had a flair for making his family name iconic in a competitive retail field.

It's hard not to think of the White House of Music as a Waukesha fixture, tall and stately like that "other" White House out east. The business name was Jerry's doing, and the custom-designed structure, to which the business relocated in 1992, came about after his younger brother Roger took over the business.

It remains a Waukesha landmark following Jerry White's death July 10 at age 91. And it also carries on basic principles that he brought to the business over a quarter century.

"Jerry brought a passion for young people to have an opportunity to be involved in music," Roger White said. "He brought integrity and honesty. He dealt with people in an honest way all the time. And dedication. He really taught us all of those things.

"Our responsibility was to carry that on," he added.

White worked as a music teacher then became a small business owner

From the start, the White household was clearly a family of music. Jerry and Roger's father, Ora, was a professional musician who played in popular dance bands. Bruce White, an older cousin and band director who taught music full time, was equally musically inclined. Each played musical instruments growing up.

Jerry himself became a student at the University of Wisconsin School of Music after high school, graduating with bachelor's degree in music education in 1958. He played in local dance bands and began working as a music teacher in the Madison area.

It was Bruce who first got the family involved in the retail music business, opening the Waukesha House of Music on Clinton Street in downtown Waukesha in 1953 with partner Bob Sommers. Jerry joined the business in 1961 and bought out Bruce's share in 1963 to allow him to return to full-time teaching, according to a family timeline posted in the company website.

That's when the business was rechristened as the White House of Music. The rest is music history.

For Roger's son Chris White, who now runs the business, his uncle Jerry created the very basis for that history.

Jerry White moved the business to 726 N. Grand Ave. in 1976, expanding its local presence and continuing to cater to youthful students of music.

The business facade was modeled after the White House

According to his family, Jerry White spent the 23 years building up the business by working with schools and their music teachers, creating promotions, recruiting students and offering music repair services.

He served as an officer of the National Association of School Music Dealers and the National Association of Music Merchants.

Jerry retired in 1987, selling his share of the business to brother Roger, who five years later erected the 20,000-square-foot, custom-designed building on Springdale Road as the White House's new home.

That move to 2101 Springdale Road in 1992 was meant to capture a share of the strong retail neighborhood on Waukesha's east side, anchored by Kohl's to the west and Target to the east, Chris White said.

Chris remembers his father Roger's request for him to go to the library to find some images of the actual White House for store design inspiration. The idea was handed to the retailer's architect, who designed a façade that was a perfect match for the business' name.

"(WTMJ-AM personality) Gordon Hinkley called it 'Your landmark of music,'" Chris said, fondly recalling the new store's celebrated opening week. "It had that look."

While Jerry was no longer involved in the business at that point, he appreciated what his brother had accomplished in the family's name. The business has grown into a four-location chain as Roger and Chris deepened and spread the family's musical roots, with a strong emphasis on supporting high school bands.

"One of the things I enjoyed so much about Uncle Jerry is that, after he retired and my dad semi-retired, he has always had a continued interest and been an encouragement for the business," Chris said.

The focus of the retail business has always been the young music student.

"It was probably (the family's) music education influence," Chris said. "The fact that Bruce, Jerry and Roger were all music educators, it made it real easy to connect with those other music educators who were out in the schools and know exactly how to help them get more kids into music. That's still our forté and focus."

That's something Roger tried to stress when he told a fellow teacher he was quitting to join Jerry in the business. That teacher objected, saying he felt Roger's decision eliminated a chance for students to learn from him.

"My comeback was 'But I'll have the opportunity to touch the lives of a lot more kids' being in the music business," said Roger, who headed sales in Jerry's company for more than two decades before becoming the proverbial band leader himself.

The business saw a sharp increase in business during the COVID-19 pandemic as people, including some who had Jerry to thank, turned their interests back to music while sheltering at home

The music never ends

After Jerry retired, he remained musically active, leading a 17-piece big band for another quarter century.

"His life in music went kind of full circle," Chris noted. "He played it, was in business for it, and then went back and started another band so he could do it all over again."

Jerry's legacy carries on, at least for Chris, who himself is now more than two decades into his reign leading the business. He pointed to an oral history posted by the National Association of Music Merchants on its website as voicing some of that legacy.

"Legacy is a good word, but I don't see it as an entitlement though for future success," he said. "We have this saying around here. We want to be better today than yesterday. Better tomorrow than today. We are constantly looking toward the future. It's still fun."

While Roger doesn't think so much of the business as a legacy, one thing he knows is that people will remember Jerry not only as a retail owner, but as "a nice guy."

"Jerry was a very good boss when I worked with him, and he was even a better brother," Roger said. "I miss that. I miss the camaraderie with him. We both loved the White House."

Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jariccioli.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: White House of Music owner dies at 91, leaves legacy at Waukesha store