VIDALIA — Those who worked with Morris White as he piloted Concordia Parish through nearly three decades of emergency events, said he was a man dedicated to a good greater than himself.

White died Thursday at his home in Concordia Parish. He was 74.

Initially appointed as civil defense director in 1984, the job eventually morphed into emergency preparedness director and ultimately into parish Homeland Security director.

When White retired last May, two years after his office coordinated the response to the highest-recorded Mississippi River levels in history, Gov. Bobby Jindal honored him at that time with a commendation for his years of work.

But beyond paper accolades, the fact that the Vidalia Riverfront still exists will be a lasting legacy of White’s dedication, Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland said.

“Morris was the one who found out about the Hesco baskets, brought it to my attention and got the state emergency preparedness and Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness involved,” Copeland said.

“If it was not for Morris White, we would have probably lost the Riverfront.”

The Hesco baskets in reference were a large temporary retaining wall built around the structures on the Riverfront, keeping the flood waters at bay even as the river rose to 61.9 feet, well beyond the flood stage of 48 feet on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s gauge.

Former Concordia Parish Sheriff Randy Maxwell said White’s work during the flood went well beyond the riverfront, and after the waters receded, it was White who took on the task of documenting the damage left behind. He did the same after any natural catastrophe.

“In any emergency, he was trying to put the pieces together, to make sure we could get our fair share of money,” Maxwell said. “He did a great job, and he was dedicated to his work and the people of Concordia Parish. You could always depend on Morris to be there.”

That was what defined White, Concordia Parish Police Jury President Melvin Ferrington said, was his dependability.

“When we had an emergency, he would go day and night,” Ferrington said. “When the river came up, he went for a week without going to bed, and I never called him to do anything he didn’t do.

“During one of the hurricanes we had, he left out in the middle of the night during the storm, going after sandbags we needed for the parish — he put the parish before himself.”

Copeland said White also played an instrumental role in helping Vidalia get a hurricane evacuation center. The Vidalia Conference and Convention Center can be converted into a Red Cross evacuation shelter in the event of a hurricane.

“If there was ever a problem, he was there to work for Vidalia,” Copeland said.

Concordia Parish Homeland Security Director Junior Tarver, who was appointed to fill White’s position when he retired, said White’s dedication to the job was driven by a love for what he did.

“He took this job to heart,” Tarver said. “He did the best he possibly could do with it.”