Ed White was a perfect first tenor. There would be occasionally a quaver in his voice at the higher notes, but he sang Summertime beautifully, and then worked for the Public Library in New York for a long time.

-From Frank Cabot at the 60th Anniversary Memorial Service

Edward Elijah White Jr., a former chief of public relations for the New York Public Library, died of brain cancer Sunday in Good Samaritan Hospital in West Palm Beach, Fla. He was 60 years old and lived in Palm Beach.

Mr. White served in the Navy in 1945 and 1946 and graduated in 1950 from Harvard College. He worked in book publishing in Manhattan before joining the public library in 1970.

After leaving the library, he moved in 1978 to Florida, where he worked as an actor, performing in supper clubs and at dinner theaters in the Palm Beach area. He also moderated numerous radio interview programs.

He is survived by a half-sister, Mamie White Edson of Beaumont, Tex.