Sister Eleanor White SA

Sister Eleanor White, a Franciscan Sister of the Atonement from Graymoor, died on February 18, 2026 in the Lurana Health Care Residence of St. Francis Convent, Garrison, NY.

Sister Eleanor was born on October 14, 1937, the youngest child and only daughter of Gwendolyn (LaRose) and William J. White of Potsdam, New York. She is survived by her Sisters in Community, her cousin Fr. Steve Yander (who will celebrate Sister's funeral Mass), and numerous loving nieces and nephews, the children of her three deceased brothers: Theodore (Ted), Gerald (Jerry) and Thomas (Tom) White.

Sister entered the convent as a Postulant on August 16, 1956. She professed her First Vows on April 16, 1958 and her Final Vows on August 31, 1963. As an Atonement missionary for 68 years, Sister taught kindergarten in her early religious life, and served in parish, catechetical, pastoral and retreat ministries in New York (Cobleskill, Canajoharie, Garrison, Stillwater, & Adams); California (Merced); New Jersey (Deal); New Hampshire (Farmington); Oregon (Bandon); Rhode Island (Harrisville); and Washington, D.C. (Washington Retreat House) before returning to Graymoor in 2003 where she continued retreat ministry at Our Lady of the Atonement Retreat House. Sister wrote, "I have appreciated our various ministries as well as the different parts of the country to which they have brought me. I have a particular interest in retreat ministry." As a reflection of her deep, inner calling for the love of retreat ministry, Sister Eleanor entered into the Rachel's Vineyard Retreats for healing the hearts of those who are dealing with post-abortion trauma. Believing in the healing power of the Divine Physician, our Lord Jesus, Eleanor embarked on bringing this healing love to those involved in the Rachel's Vineyard Retreats.

Sister's life was a marvelous blend of outward joy, humor, and inner contemplation, which called many people, including those Sisters who lived with her, to a better appreciation of a living God who "mixes with us" and rejoices in all creation. She had a gift for introducing others to the sunrises and sunsets of God's creation by snowshoeing, recreational walking, noticing the fields of white daisies 'dance' in the sunshine, and for making any 'house' a 'home' – comfortable and beautiful! The title, "Lady Eleanor," which has become familiar to many, was well-deserved and most appropriate for such a gifted, kind and loving Sister of the Atonement! When reminded by anyone of all that we have given up as Sisters, Eleanor's favorite response was: "God is never outdone in generosity. My praise and thanks to Him and my Sisters in our At-One-Ment vocation!"

On Monday, February 23, 2026, the Reception of the Body and Wake Service will be at 7:00 p.m. Sister's funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. All services are held in the Motherhouse Chapel at St. Francis Convent, Graymoor. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement, 41 Old Highland Turnpike, Garrison, New York 10524. Burial will be in the Sisters' Cemetery. Funeral arrangements by Dorsey-Carlone Funeral Home.