Dorothy White

Opelousas – A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, January 23, 2023, at St. Landry Catholic Church in Opelousas, Louisiana, at 2:30 p.m. for Dorothy Claire White. Miss White passed away Wednesday, January 18, 2023. Visitation will be held at St. Landry Catholic Church on Monday, January 23, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. until the time of service. A rosary will be recited by Deacon Sammy Diesi at 2:00 p.m. The Rev. Monsignor Keith DeRouen will conduct funeral services.

Interment will follow at Bellevue Memorial Park.

Dorothy Claire White was born in Opelousas on July 23, 1927. Miss White grew up in Opelousas. She graduated from Opelousas High School in 1944 and went on to attend LSU, where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

After graduating with a bachelor of science in education, Miss White returned to Opelousas and taught business courses at Port Barre High School before spending the remainder of her long teaching career at Opelousas High School. She eventually earned a master of education from LSU. After a long and impactful career, she retired from the St. Landry Parish School Board.

Miss White was a devout Roman Catholic who practiced her faith her entire life and prayed the rosary daily. She was a member of the Opelousas Garden Club and the Daughters of the American Revolution. For many years, she volunteered as a Pink Lady at Doctor’s Hospital. She was an avid and adept bridge player who made many close friends through playing. Miss White also enjoyed needlepoint, traveling, and painting ceramic tableware. She had a great affinity for gardening, which ranged from tending azaleas and camellias to fondly sharing clippings with loved ones.

A lifelong resident of Opelousas, Miss White loved her community, students, family, and friends and was duly loved and respected in return. She was distinctively elegant, incredibly intelligent, and a phenomenal storyteller. Her loved ones will miss her fascinating stories, sharpness, and wisdom.

Miss White is survived by first cousin Elizabeth Mistric Dimmick; second cousins Marie Nash Stander, Claire Nash Fruge (Danny), Mary Nash Dubuisson, Foster Parlange Nash III (Megan), Lindsey Beth Dimmick, and Martha Marie “Mimi” Dimmick; nephew Leonard Garland White; niece Judy Claire Harris; great-niece Stacey Marie White; great-nephews Matthew Corbit White, Gregory Bateman White, and John Michael White; and longtime friend and former student Angela Torres Spallino.

Miss White was preceded in death by her parents, Marie Leonie Mistric White and Irl Leonard White Sr.; brother, Irl Leonard White Jr.; maternal grandparents, Marie Azema Robin Mistric and Pierre Paul Mistric; and paternal grandparents, Fannie Maria Livezey White and Nicholas Leonard White.

The family extends its gratitude to Miss White’s caretakers, Effie, Ida, Janice, Joyce, Lillie, Stephanie, Velma, and Wilma, and to the compassionate physicians and staff at Opelousas General Hospital.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Miss Dorothy Claire White may be contributed to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.