He was the son of Baptist minister William A. White and the brother of famed Canadian concert singer Portia White, labour union leader Jack White, and television performer Lorne White. Bill White was the father of software designer W. Romney White, folk musician Chris White, Toronto physician Laurie White, social activist and politician Sheila White and professional musician Tim White.
He stood as the Company-operative Commonwealth Federation candidate in the Toronto electoral district of Spadina in the 1949 election, although he was not elected. He was invested into the Order on March 31, 1971. The appointment was for "services to the community and his contribution to better relations and understanding between people of different racial background." Another honour he earned was the Scarborough Citizen of the Year in 1976.
Bill White died in New Zealand on January 23, 1981 local time (January 22 in Toronto"s Eastern Time Zone).
