Mary A. White

July 26, 1944 - September 1, 2026

One of Mary White's grandchildren once said, "Grandma would have made a great field general. She would have lost more than half her troops, but she would have won every battle." It was with that tenacity that Mary approached all things that she loved in life.

Early on in her marriage to Max White, that love extended to their first three children.

Later Mary and Max decided to open their home to children in the foster care system, partly as a way to pay back the kindness that Mary and her siblings received during a particularly tough time in her own childhood. Soon several of those children joined the family permanently. Eventually Max and Mary uprooted their suburban existence to a more agricultural setting. During the time she lived on her beloved Hilsondale Farm, its pastures were roamed by countless pygmy goats, Shetland sheep, and miniature horses, as well as an odd pig, llama, or donkey. Mary's love affair with creatures who eat grass was matched only by her love of things that grow in the dirt. Her perfect day would consist of digging in her many flower beds, getting her hands dirty and shooing the squirrels away from her bird feeders, before sitting down with a library book or catching up on the latest from Rachel Maddow. Mary was small in stature but large in presence. We will miss her deeply and are better for having her in our lives.

Mary is survived by her husband Max White, children Leigh Ann , Brad (Kathleen O'Leary), Todd (Liz Seger), Emily, Rebecca, grandchildren Tucker, Isaac, Avi, Aiden, brother Jim, sister-in-law Jo Ellen White, and nieces and nephews Kris, Amy, Scott, Charissa, Gretchen.

She is preceded in death by her daughter Elizabeth.

Mary will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her.