MARGARET WHITE

Margaret Sullivan White, 88
Kindergarten teacher and mother of eight
Margaret Sullivan White passed away on Sept. 9, 2016, in Toms River, N.J., after a brief illness. She spent her final days surrounded by her loving family. She was 88 years old.
Margaret grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, where she was the oldest daughter of the late Thomas and Margaret (Golden) Sullivan, and the loving sister to eight brothers and two sisters. The mothering skills she acquired as the oldest daughter in a large Irish Catholic family served her well in later years when she had eight of her own children with her husband, John V. White; he predeceased her in 2005.
Margaret, lovingly nick-named Dolly by her family, attended St. Ephrem's grade school, and Saint Brendan's high school in Bay Ridge, and graduated from Notre Dame College on Staten Island in 1950. She met her beloved husband, John, through her brother, Gerry Sullivan, when they attended Manhattan College together.
After marrying on Nov. 23, 1950, they started the first half of their family on 74th street in Bay Ridge, where they had Mary, Tom, Marge, Bernadette, and John Joseph. They moved to Tenth Street in New Dorp on Staten Island in 1960, where the family grew to eight children with the addition of Richard, Frances, and Vincent.
The Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish was the center of their educational and faith universe, where at one point she had six of her eight children attending the elementary school at one time.
Her life became even busier when she became the kindergarten teacher at St. Clare's elementary school in Great Kills in 1969, where she taught 90 children daily between the day and afternoon sessions.
At the end of the school day, she would come home to her own bustling household, where she tried to keep law and order, sometimes successfully.
In 1987, Margaret and John retired and moved to Toms River, N.J., and lived part of the year in Jupiter, Fla. They had a wonderful marriage.
Margaret's Catholic faith was a constant in her life and sustained her throughout her 88 years. Challenged by polio as a young child, she spent two years in the hospital and received what was then considered radical surgery at the time on her spine which allowed her to live a normal life. She was a petite woman with larger than life courage culled from her faith, which sustained her through the untimely losses of her sons, John Joseph, in 1996, and Tom, in 2002, and her husband, John, in 2005.
To everyone who knew her, she radiated a warmth and gentleness that made her so beloved and easy to be with. She was adored by her children, grandchildren, daughters and sons-in-law, and siblings. All who visited with her always came away with some of her cheerful and faithful energy. Even when she met challenging health crises in her final years, she was ever reliant on her faith. Her health aide, Aida Delola, was a godsend who provided so much love and support along with her great neighbors, Linda and Sam LaBrutto.
The essence of her being was exemplified in a school project interview conducted by her grandson, Dylan Jones, who asked her about the best ways to help others, and she replied, "the greatest gift to help others is the gift of kindness." This she gave in great quantity.
Margaret is survived by her loving children, Mary Kudless, Margaret Yale, Bernadette White, Richard White, Frances Dailey, and Vincent White, and her beloved sons and daughters-in- law, John Kudless, David Yale, Stephen Jones, Dina and Ernie Karayel, Caroline Chauvin, Richard Dailey, and Donna White.
She is also survived by her loving siblings, John Sullivan, Peter Sullivan, Ralph Sullivan, Betty Haggerty, and Frances Sullivan, and her beloved sisters and brothers-in-law, Barbara Sullivan, Kathy Sullivan, John Brennan, and Patricia Sullivan.
She also leaves her many grandchildren who loved her deeply, Matthew White, Jessica White, Deanna White, Margot Yale, Dylan Jones, Olivia Jones, Leon and Johnny Kartsanis, Emily White, Kathleen Dailey, Erin Dailey, Richard Dailey, Colleen Dailey, Joseph Dailey, Christopher White and Andrew White, and three great-grandchildren, Thomas, Harleigh, and James, and many nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her brothers, Thomas Sullivan, Gerry Sullivan, Billy Sullivan, Richard Sullivan, and Bishop Joseph Sullivan.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Bishop Joseph Sullivan Center for Health in Haiti, c/o The Catholic Medical Mission Board, 100 Wall Street, 9th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10005. Please make checks payable to CMMB.
Calling hours are Monday, Sept. 12, between 7 and 9 p.m., and Tuesday, Sept. 13, between 2 and 4 and 7 and 9 p.m. at the Casey McCallaum Rice Funeral Home, 30 Nelson Ave., S.I. with the Mass of Resurrection to be held on Wednesday at St. Clare's R.C. Church at 11 a.m. followed by burial at The Resurrection Cemetery, Staten Island.

Casey McCallum Rice
South Shore F/H
30 Nelson Ave.
SI, NY 10308