(1932-2026)

For Mary White, the path to entering religious life in Washington State began in Minnesota and wended its way through Kansas.

Mary Frances White entered the world in the tiny farming town of Montevideo, Minnesota, on July 30, 1932. She was the third of Henry and Frances (Jahn) White’s five children, joining David and Laura in the family. Paul was born when Mary was about five years old, and a third boy, Joseph, was born in 1943 but sadly only lived to be about nine months old.

Henry was a mechanic, and even before Mary’s birth the family had moved several times because it was hard for him to find work in that difficult economic era. And so, it was no surprise that when she was six months old, they moved yet again, this time to Newton, Kansas. They moved into Henry’s mother’s home, which she had vacated to become the housekeeper for her youngest son who had been ordained to the priesthood. Since Henry only made about $25 a week, this certainly saved on housing costs for them.

A chicken coop on the property not only allowed Frances to make some money selling eggs, but was also the source of a family story:

My brother swears [he and Laura] were trying to entertain me. Whatever their motives, or how they accomplished it, I don’t know, but when my mother looked out the window she saw me in the wagon being pulled along the ridge of the chicken house roof. This may account for my inordinate fear of heights.

Thanks to a correspondence course Henry took in machinist training, in 1937 he was able to get a job as a machinist at the Cardwell Aircraft Company in Wichita, Kansas, and the family moved once more. Mary’s early schooling came in Wichita at Blessed Sacrament School, where “I was fortunate to be able to attend kindergarten with a marvelous Sister who sought to bring out the artistic side of her students,” she wrote.

Her memories of her earliest years in Newton had been of “pasture and hedges and cows and one elderly neighbor lady who seemed to like us and invited us over rather often.” Now, living on the outskirts of Wichita with open fields in which to roam and a rather long walk to school, “my love of solitude began.”

Read more about Sister Mary (PDF)

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, MI, 49221. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Anderson-Marry Funeral Services, Adrian.

Sister's Memorial Card (PDF)

Vigil and Funeral Recordings

Note: To view recordings with closed captioning, they must be viewed on our public video library rather than through the links below.

Recording of Sister Mary's Vigil Service - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)

Recording of Sister Mary's Memorial Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)

 

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