Carol White

MADISON - Carol Laier White died on Saturday, June 2, 2007, at Meriter Retirement Center in the fold of her loving family. Carol was born in Buffalo, New York on Oct. 31, 1921, to Flora and Fred Laier. Carol and her sisters Margaret and Jean were raised by their new mother Elsie, when her father remarried following the death of Flora. A fourth Laier girl, Elsie was born into the family. Carol graduated from North Central College in Naperville, Ill., where she met her husband Bill as a classmate in 1943. She completed a dietetic internship and became a hospital dietitian at Shriner's Hospital in Oak Park, Ill. She later received her M.A. degree in human services counseling. The Rev. William D. White and Carol were married in 1944, following his army service in Japan. They remained in love and loyal to their vows for the remainder of their lives together until his death in 1997. The Whites served Chicago and suburban churches in the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church for 40 years. Carol became an adult education teacher and an administrator of women's programs at one of the Chicago City Colleges. Her primary interest was enabling women to receive education and training so they could successfully compete in the workplace. Carol was a board member for many women's organizations, including the Illinois Governor's Advisory Board for Women's Programs. Bill and Carol traveled the world over. In 1985, Carol attended a month-long conference in Nairobi, Kenya for the United Nations Decade for Women, as part of a delegation of U.S. Church Women United. Her more recent travel destinations were India, Nepal and China with her attentive travel companion and daughter Christine. The Whites moved to Madison in 1994 to be near all of their families, William F. White and Kathie J. Nichols and Nick and Andy, Paul and Ellen White and Jenny, Christine White and Edward Ryan and Joey and Emma, Barbara White and partner, Laura Anderson. Carol will live on in the hearts and actions of her children and their families. Carol was at once intelligent, spirited, tender, loving and a bit tempestuous. They could always count on her to be present in her role as matriarch. Carol's penchant for hard work and numerous talents more than compensated for a preachers modest pay to assure that her family wanted not. As mother, mother-in-law and grandmother, she took great interest and offered valued direction, as well as gifts, to the chosen life paths of her family. The White family has had a summer home on the shores of Green Bay, in the Village of Egg Harbor, since 1956. Carol was known and respected for her strong social conscience. While others were content to merely shake their head at injustice, Carol would take action. That these social actions were not always popular with communities or congregations was never a deterrent to her mission. Her efforts provided shelter for homeless women and training for women entering the workforce in mid-life. Carol's final years were quite challenging as she, recently widowed and struggled with the progressive affects of Alzheimer's disease. Her resolve and resourcefulness afforded her a level of independence beyond her abilities. Carol continued to make deep and abiding friendships. Dr. Jack Fox and Elaine Weidemann were two such friends. Carol's family is eternally grateful to the many staff at Meriter Retirement Center and Hospice Care for the love, skill and attention that surrounded Carol in her final years. A Celebration of Life will be held at the FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH in Madison, 403 Wisconsin Avenue on Sunday June 17, 2007. Visitation is at 2 p.m. followed by the service at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the building fund at the First United Methodist Church of Madison, to the White Scholarship Fund at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill., or to Deborah's Place in Chicago, Ill.