This obituary originally appeared on Memorial Funeral Home.
Joan White, age 87 of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, passed away on August 22, 2020. Joan was born in San Francisco, CA, on July 6, 1933. Her parents were Cmdr. Algernon Joyner and Alice Joyner. Joan was married to Capt. Paul White for 68 years.
Joan was educated in a variety of elementary schools, and graduated from Friends’ Select High School in Philadelphia. It was in Philadelphia where she met her future husband at a dance. The couple married at the end of June Week in the Naval Academy chapel. As the daughter and wife, she took the many moves the family made in stride, approaching them with a sense of adventure; through apartments, Quonset huts, and base housing. She made friends and allies everywhere she went, as she raised three children and supported her husband’s career.
Through all the moves and demands of the Navy wife, Joan pursued her interest in health by becoming a Red Cross volunteer Grey Lady, assisting hospital corpsmen, nurses, and doctors with a variety of tasks. She also became a certified medical technician and worked professionally in the health care field. She returned to the volunteer world, though, and headed up the Newport Red Cross Volunteers in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
Joan had many interests: reading, sewing, knitting, and photography. She remained close to the friends she made throughout her years as a Navy wife and was an avid bridge player, holding and attending weekly bridge parties with former Navy wives. Joan enjoyed swimming and sailing. She held the position of treasurer for the Coaster Harbor Yacht Club in the 1990’s.
She was predeceased by her sister Nancy Keith. Joan is survived by her husband Paul, and her sons and daughter; Paul L. White and his wife, Beth Marion of Kingston, RI, her daughter, Leslie White and her husband, Bart, of Palo Alto, CA, and Kirk White and his wife, Diane, of Crofton, MD. Her grandchildren are Brian White, Eric White, Elle Burstein, and Justin Burstein.
A private ceremony will be held Thursday August 27, 202 from 9:00 am -11:00 am in Connors Funeral Home, 55 West Main Rd. in Portsmouth.
Burial will follow at Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Exeter, RI at 12:30PM.