Mrs. Grace Myrtle White, 95, passed away May 23, 2025. She was born on May 6, 1930 in Santa Rosa Beach to John Davis and Lucy May Thompson.
She spent her 95 years in the same small town-born, raised, married, and deeply rooted in the same soil. And yet, within the quiet boundaries of that one place, she lived a life more skilled, more generous, and more extraordinary than most.
There was nothing Mema couldn’t do. She could crochet delicate lace, sew clothes from scratch, and tailor a three-piece suit better than most professionals. She cooked everything from memory-fried chicken that was downright legendary, fried fish that was always crisp and perfect- and somehow knew how to get a stain out of absolutely anything. She could clean and gut any animal, wire a house for electricity, fix a plumbing issue, and grow a garden from a single cutting. Her hands were always busy- and they were always creating, repairing, or nurturing something.
In our family, we had a saying: “If you need some thing fixed, take it to Mema.” And it was true. Whether it was a broken chair, a torn shirt, Mema could fix it.
She raised so many animals over the years, had several dogs and cats, but what Mema raised more than anything was people. She helped raise her siblings, then her children, then her grandchildren- and even several great-grandchildren. She mothered not just by blood, but by heart.
Her door was always open. Her table was always full. No one was ever turned away-not if she could help it. If you needed a place to stay, a warm meal, or simply a kind word, she had one waiting for you.
Mema was resourceful, smart, proud, and fiercely capable. She made the most out of everything she had, she did it with strength, grace and a deep sense of love for the people around her.
And while she was incredibly skilled, Mema also had a lightness to her-a joy that would shine through when you least expected it. One of her favorite stories comes from when she was a young lady. She remembered dancing the night away in a place with no electricity-just oil lamps flickering and old Victrola records being wound up by hand. The soldiers stationed nearby during World War II would gather, and Mema would dance like the world wasn’t at war at all. Back then, dancing was one of her greatest joys- and she was good at it.
So thank you, Mema- for raising us, and loving us. We are who we are because of you. And though we miss you dearly, your spirit is stitched into the fabric of our lives.
Mema was a loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.
Mrs. White was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, William Avee White, Sr.; three sons, Billy James White, James William White and William A.V. White, Jr.; and one daughter, Gracie Lee W. Fonville.
Mrs. White is survived by her son, Michael Ray White of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida; four brothers, Walter Whoolery, Joseph Whoolery, Raymond Whoolery, and Frank Whoolery, all of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida; one sister, Marie W. of Navarre, Florida; one daughter-in-law, Linda White of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida; 9 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, and 11 great-great-grandchildren.
A time of visitation will be held from 10:00 – 11:00 AM, Thursday, June 5, 2025 at Lighthouse Church; 1144 North County Highway 395, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida 32459.
Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 AM, Thursday, June 5, 2025 at Lighthouse Church; with Pastor Damon Johnson, Brother Earl Barrett and Reverend Mike Bowden officiating.
Flowers are being accepted.
Pallbearers will be Evan Orr, Grace Orr, Delbert Whoolery, Jesse Whoolery, Michael White, and Hunter Gross.
Burial will be held at Point Washington Cemetery in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.
