Jean M. White

MADISON - Jean White, whose enduring curiosity took her far from her Indiana roots, died of natural causes on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020, at Agrace HospiceCare in Fitchburg, Wis., after a brief illness. She was 97. By her tenth decade Jean had been a teacher, a Navy WAVE, a newspaper reporter, a freelance travel writer/photographer with her husband, Charles, a mother, a book editor, and a resident of Indiana, California, Washington D.C., and Florida. She moved to Madison, Wis., in 2018 to be near her daughter. Jean Mary Mahoney White was born on Nov. 27, 1922, into a world where horses and buggies mixed with the cars on the streets of Huntington, Ind. Her family consisted of parents, Fred Mahoney and Opal (Beghtel) Mahoney and two sisters, Margaret (“Peg”) born in 1909 and Muriel (“Jimmy”) born in 1913. Jean’s mother was an inveterate reader who kept a detailed scrapbook about royal families of Europe. Jean maintained a lifelong interest in Queen Elizabeth. Much of Jean’s childhood summers were spent at the family cottage “Sunnyside” in Winona Lake, Ind., where six generations of her extended family have continued that tradition. In her teens Jean fell in love with everything related to the world of opera and musical theater. This passion brought her immense pleasure. She had a great talent for music, and she sang the alto part in all kinds of choirs throughout most of her life. Jean graduated from Huntington High School in 1938, at the age of 16, and from Ball State Teachers College in 1942. A job teaching in Los Angeles, Calif., followed. With World War II underway, in 1944 Jean volunteered for service in the U.S. Navy as a WAVE, with postings in Washington, D.C and Maryland. After the war ended, she went to work as a reporter for the Muncie Evening Press. She met fellow reporter Charles White there, who wooed her with poems rolled into her typewriter. She left for the big city of Chicago and a chance to work on a radio quiz show known as “RFD America”; his courtship continued. They married in Valparaiso, Ind., on May 3, 1948. The couple left their jobs to pursue traveling writing, catching the tail end of the era of weekly illustrated magazines. For a few months, Jean again lived in Washington, DC while Charles served as an assistant to Congressman Charles Brownson. In 1954 the couple returned to Muncie and started a family. Sons, Andrew James and David Frederic and daughter, Sarah Elizabeth were born in 1954, 1955, and 1956. In 1957 the family moved to Carmel, Ind., when Charles took a job on the Indianapolis Times. Jean and Charles were founding members of St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Carmel. The Whites were active in the rapidly growing church, serving on the vestry, singing in the choir, and along the way forming lasting friendships with fellow parishioners. Jean’s strong but quiet faith in God sustained her throughout her life. Never one to stay home, Jean returned to work when her children entered school. Her favorite position was as a book editor at the Saturday Evening Post beginning in 1976. There she became good friends with fellow staffers, with whom she stayed in touch in retirement. In 1986 Jean and Charles left Carmel for Muncie. Charles died in 1987. Jean moved to Sarasota, Fla., in 1992, and began a period of many happy years living in Rolling Green Golf Village where her older sisters were already residents. Jean enjoyed the warm winters and making new friends. Always a nature lover, Jean especially enjoyed getting to know the semi-tropical landscape of the gulf coast. By 2018 Jean’s ties to Sarasota had worn thin, and she chose Madison, Wis., for her final home. Jean is survived by her sons, Andy of Traverse City, Mich., and David of Austin, Texas; David’s son, Ethan and stepsons, Mark and Zach; and daughter Sarah of Madison; as well as the many descendants of her oldest sister, Margaret.Two great-grandnieces, Adelaide and Evelyn were born into the Mahoney clan in the week before Jean’s passing. Jean’s family has been blessed by God to have had so many happy years with her, and we know she is at peace with the risen Lord. The family fun at Winona Lake will continue, and Jean’s memory will live on in the people growing up under the Mahoney family tree. The family thanks the staff of Wickshire Madison and Agrace HospiceCare for their caring support of our beloved mother. In lieu of flowers, the family suggest gifts in Jean’s memory to any cause aligned with her Christian faith, love of nature, and interest in the well-being of vulnerable beings everywhere. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com. Gunderson East Funeral & Cremation Care 5203 Monona Drive (608) 221-5420