Mary Anne "Landreau" White

Mary Anne White, 95, of Charlottesville, died on September 13, 2025.

Mary Anne was born on March 1, 1930, in Bellflower, California, to Charles Zephier (Zeph) Landreau and Ethel Genevieve (née Bourg). She spent her early life in Tujunga, California with her parents and five siblings: Donald, Marguerite (Gildea), Laura "Lollie" (O'Connor), Fr. Edward, and Richard. In those early days, Mary Anne developed many loves that she would pass down through the generations: love of God, love of friendship, love of family, a love of card games and music, and a deep love of reading. Though she would become a world traveler during her married life, Mary Anne remained a small-town girl at heart.

Growing up on Beckett Street, Mary Anne lived a quiet life. The house she lived in was surrounded by lemon and fig trees, and was less than a mile from Our Lady of Lourdes parish, where she grew in her Catholic faith. She spent so many hours at the local library that the librarian would gift her books that had reached the end of their shelf life, and she had a close-knit group of girlfriends (Doris, Gayle, Virginia and Jean) who called themselves "The Tujunga Droolers" as a tribute to their collective admiration for Frank Sinatra. Even after Mary Anne left California, "The Droolers" endured, getting together at least once a year.

Mary Anne met Steven Angelo White, the friend of her brother Ed, when she was in second grade. Steve was a bit of a tease and, growing up together, Mary Anne was used to Steve's merciless teasing and rarely gave him the time of day. What started out as playground banter blossomed into love. True to the simplicity and authenticity of their life, she accepted his proposal of marriage while he helped her with the dishes in her mother's kitchen. They married in 1951, when Steve was in his last few months at the Navy-ROTC at the University of Southern California and Mary Anne was working for Bell Telephone Company. It was the beginning of a loving union that endured until Steve's death.

For many years, Steve and Mary Anne moved around the country - and even around the world - as his Naval career skyrocketed. They lived in twenty-two different locations, and had children born throughout the country. Mary Anne's life for many years was made up of moving and pregnancies. Their eldest child, Valerie Jeanne, was born in Pasadena, California, followed under a year later by Denise Marie while Steve was training in San Diego before going to his first ship. Then Steve served on USS Manchester, based out of Long Beach. A move to Connecticut followed for sub school training. Next, with the transfer to the diesel submarine USS Tang in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, came Lori Anne. After a return to Connecticut for nuclear power school, Mary Anne and Steve moved for six months for training at the nuclear prototype in Pocatello, Idaho, where Steven Angelo was born. They returned to New London while Steve served on USS Nautilus, the first nuclear submarine, and lived in the area for the astonishingly long period of time of nearly three years. While Nautilus was into overhaul in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Kenneth Raymond was born in Kittery, Maine. Thereafter, the Whites returned to New London for Steve to serve on USS Ethan Allen, where Brice Landreau and Mary Elizabeth (Beth) were both born. When Steve took command of the USS Pargo, Mary Anne took her role very seriously in encouraging and supporting other Navy wives, while their husbands were deployed. She spent her limited spare time reading mystery novels, doing crossword puzzles, and playing the solitaire card games her mother had taught her as a child.

Even after all seven children were born, Steve and Mary Anne continued to move, living in San Diego, CA; Pocatello, ID; New London, CT; Washington, D.C.; Norfolk, VA; Alexandria, Virginia; Rota, Spain; and, finally, after Steve retired from the military, Charlottesville, VA. For a period of time, while Steve ran the nuclear branch of the Tennessee Valley Authority, Mary Anne divided her time between Charlottesville, VA and Chattanooga, TN. For the rest of her life, Mary Anne took great pride in Steve's professional accomplishments, especially his attainment of the rank of four-star Admiral.

Steve and Mary Anne loved to travel. Throughout the years, they explored Europe extensively, and even visited China. Their special love, however, was camping. They began in tents with many young children, and progressed upward to a small trailer, and eventually to motorhomes, ever-increasing in size. For decades, their annual trek across the country to visit family and friends was a campaign of remarkable scale. Steve would drive and Mary Anne would take care of the creature comforts from sandwiches to coffee refills to navigation and time management.

Mary Anne was pre-deceased by both of her parents, all of her siblings, and her childhood friends. She stood as one of the last of a great generation. She grieved the loss of her beloved husband on February 1, 2021, but accepted God's merciful Providence when He decreed Mary Anne stay with us a little while longer. She remained, throughout her life, a lover of her family, and of Our Blessed Mother. She prayed her Rosary faithfully every day, concluding with the prayer: "Sweet Mother, I place my life in your hands" - a sentiment she encouraged in others, and felt deeply in her soul.

She is survived by her seven children-Valerie, Denise (Walker), Lori (Donlon), Steven, Kenneth, Brice, and Beth (Elliott)-their spouses, and many nieces and nephews whom she loved as dearly as her own children. Two of her greatest points of pride were her husband's spectacular career; and the growing number of grandchildren (35) and great-grandchildren (65 and counting) that flourished in the home that she and Steve created together. Their home has always been a place of welcome and reunion for all who crossed the threshold. She delighted in large family gatherings, joking frequently that she was "responsible for all of these people!" Mary Anne White: mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, is already sorely missed.

A Funeral Mass will take place on Monday, September 22, at 10:00AM at St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish in Charlottesville, VA. Mary Anne will be buried alongside Steve at Arlington National Cemetery at a future date.

In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations to the Archdiocese of the Military Services in honor of Mary Anne White.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let Your perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.