Rose White

1919 - 2014

December 4, 1919 - December 22, 2014 December 4, 1919 - December 22, 2014 Rose Boyle White, 95, passed away at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, California on Monday, December 22, 2014. She was born to Thomas Boyle and Clare White Boyle on December 4, 1919 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. In 1921, Clare and Tom moved to Los Angeles, California and settled in Inglewood. Rose graduated from Washington High School in 1939 and took a position as an operator for the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. Rose's outstanding value as an employee soon became apparent. Her character and leadership qualities helped her quickly ascend to chief operator and then a management position. While serving on the welcoming committee for a Catholic singles group, Rose met the love of her life, Leonard White, at one of the group's dances. Their first date, for which they celebrated the anniversary every year, was December 26, 1955. They married on August 25, 1956 and settled in Inglewood. After their daughter Clare was born in 1958, Rose resigned her position from the telephone company. Teresa and Rosemary followed in 1959 and 1960. The family lived in Compton, California where Leonard established a CPA practice now known as White, Nelson, Diehl, and Evans. Rose and Leonard were involved with their church and community and many lifelong friendships were established during those years. Leonard's practice flourished and in 1970, Rose and Leonard relocated their family to Anaheim. Rose enjoyed working on behalf of local charities. She helped plan many events for Cornelia Connelly High School, where her three girls attended. She was active in the Anaheim Assistance League for many years and served in leadership positions, including president and chairman of the annual fashion show and helped develop the program that provided school uniforms to underprivileged children. Rose had a gift for securing donors and sponsors to advertise in programs for various charity events. She served as chairman for the Damas de Caridad Headdress Ball to benefit St. Jude Hospital and modeled as a headdress mannequin. Rose and Leonard shared a passion and enthusiasm for travel. During their 53-year marriage, they traveled all over the world with their daughters and many friends. Rose rarely passed up an opportunity to make a trip to Las Vegas. Rose was a dedicated mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and aunt. She is survived by her sister Mildred Burgess of Century City and her children- Clare (Lawrence) McDonald of Solana Beach, Teresa (James) Armstrong of Chantilly, Virginia and Rosemary (Rand) Sperry of Orange and 12 grandchildren- Matthew and Nina McDonald (Clare), Catherine, Paul, Michael and Angela Armstrong (Teresa), Brian, Christie, Katie, Kevin, Michelle and Keleigh Sperry (Rosemary), two great-grandsons-Bridan and Hudson Sperry. She was predeceased by her parents, two brothers, and a sister. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated in her memory on Saturday, January 3 at 10:00 a.m. at Holy Family Cathedral, 566 South Glassell Street Orange, CA 92866. Internment will be at Holy Sepulcher Catholic Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Rose's memory to: Mercy House, P.O. Box 1905, Santa Ana, CA 92702. Brown Colonial Mortuary, Santa Ana, 714/542-3949, assisting the family.