In Memoriam

Margaret White

Margaret White

Margaret Ann Rusk White, 89, died Friday, January 18, 2008, at Presbyterian Hospital Matthews in Matthews, North Carolina.

She was born on March 31, 1918, in Bloomington, Indiana. When she was seven years old, she moved with her parents to New York, New York. Mrs. White was the only child of Ralph Leslie Rusk and Clara Ella Gibbs Rusk. Ralph Leslie Rusk was a Professor Emeritus of American Literature at Columbia University, New York, New York. In 1950, he was the first winner of the National Book Award for Nonfiction for The Life of Ralph Waldo Emerson, published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1949.

In 1980, Mrs. White wrote a scholarly article, "Peter Ivanovitch's Escape: a Possible Source Overlooked," which was published in Conradiana, VII (1980), 1: 72-80.

Mrs. White was graduated from the Horace Mann High School for Girls, New York, New York, with honors in German, Latin, and English in 1936. She was graduated from Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, with a B.A. with Honors in 1940 (English major). She received an M.A. in Comparative Literature (French, German and English) from Columbia University in 1943. She completed the courses for a Ph.D. at Columbia University, but did not complete the dissertation. She attended the French School at Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont, during the summers from 1974 - 1976, earning an M.A. in French in 1976.

Dorothy Keshian

Mrs. White was married to Walter Thomas White on October 2, 1943, in a chapel at the Riverside Church in New York, New York. After she married, she lived in Hempstead, New Hyde Park, and Garden City, all on Long Island, New York, as well as Walpole, New Hampshire; Lubbock, Texas; and Columbus, North Carolina. In 2005, she moved to Plantation Estates in Matthews, North Carolina.

She was active in the Experiment in International Living as an Experimenter, host, community chairman, and delegate to the Annual International Meeting.

She enjoyed travel in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria, the British Isles, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Latin America, Yugoslavia, the Caribbean, and the United States. She also enjoyed camping, hiking, swimming, canoeing, and skiing.

She taught part-time at Mark Hopkins College, Franklin Pierce College, Bradford College, and Keene State College, all in New England, as well as Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, during the period from 1969 - 1988. Subjects included elementary French, German, and Spanish; intermediate French and German; advanced French; 17th Century French drama; introduction to German literature; and English composition and poetry. After retiring from teaching, she was a part-time journalist for The Walpole Gazette, and The Keene Sentinel during the period from 1988 - 1992 and for The Tryon Daily Bulletin from 1992 - 1996. She wrote about local authors, artists, scientists, and others.

Mrs. White is survived by her five children: Marian Rusk White Wendel of Arlington, Texas; Ellen Hallmark White Klage of Fort Wayne, Indiana; Beverly Haywood White Hurd of New York, New York; Sylvia Bennett White Lambert of Charlotte, North Carolina; and Thomas Walker White of Ellicott City, Maryland. She is also survived by her four grandchildren: Benjamin Thomas Klage, Daniel Paul Klage, Charles Raymond Hurd, and Roy William Varney. She was predeceased by her husband of 57 years, Walter Thomas White, in 2000, as well as by her mother, Clara Ella Gibbs Rusk, and her father, Ralph Leslie Rusk.

Mrs. White was cremated on Saturday, January 26, 2008, at the McFarland Funeral Chapel, Inc., in Tryon, North Carolina. The Memorial Service will be held at the Matthews United Methodist Church in Matthews, North Carolina, on February 16, 2008. The urn with her cremated remains will be placed with her husband's urn in a niche in The Columbarium of the Riverside Church, New York, New York. Donations may be made to the Columbus United Methodist Church, Columbus, North Carolina, where she attended from 1992 - 2005.

Dorothy J. Keshian

Dorothy Jost Keshian, passed away on January 17, 2008 in Winston-Salem, NC. She was born December 9, 1926 in New York to Bessie and August Jost. She was a long time resident of Garden City.

Dorothy was a graduate of Skidmore College, with a degree in psychology and art history. She received her master's degree from the State University of New York, with further study at Columbia University. Much loved by her family and friends, Dorothy was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. She was a school teacher, scout leader, talented artist and musician and active church member.

She leaves behind her husband of 54 years, Jerry, son Richard, daughter Lynn, daughter-in-law Nancy, grandsons Matthew, Christopher, and Thomas, brothers-in-law Dr. Marshall McCabe and Sam Mardian, sister-in-law Alice McCabe and a host of nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents, a brother, Richard Jost, preceded her in death.

A memorial service was held at the Chapel of First Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem at 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 19, with visitation following the service.

Ruth Jensen Bliss

Ruth Jensen Bliss of Floral Park, most recently of Garden City, passed away on Wednesday, February 8, 2008. Ruth was born in Greenpoint, Brooklyn June 12, 1920 and married her prince charming, James J. Bliss on September 24, 2005. She is survived by her husband, James J. Bliss, brother Kenneth Schneider, children, Patricia Jensen, Philip Jensen, Pamela Jensen, Penny Jayne Jensen, stepchildren, Ann Bliss and James Bliss, her six grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. She was fortunate to be surrounded by many wonderful caring friends. Ruth was much loved and will be missed by many. She will remain in our hearts, thoughts and prayers. A Funeral Mass was held on February 11, 2008 at Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Church. Burial was at St. John's Cemetery in Middle Village. The family was cared and comforted for by Thomas Dalton Funeral Home, Floral Park, NY.

David Daniels

David A. Daniels of Garden City, New York passed away on February 11, 2008 at the age of 70. A Garden City resident for 39 years, he was born in Hollywood, California and moved to Manhasset, New York with his family as a young boy. After receiving an A.B. from Harvard University in 1958, he had a long and successful career as a consulting pension actuary. He was a member of the Harvard Club of Long Island where he served on the Board of Direc-tors, and a member of the Harvard Club of New York. He was an active member of the Garden City Community Church and served a term as a member of the Board of Trustees. He was also a Chairman of the Board of Boy Scout Troop 56. He is survived by his loving and caring wife, Marj. He was the loving father of Brad & Rosemary Daniels, Betsy & Chris Graseck, Susan & Bill McEwen and Amy & David Thompson. He adored his eleven grandchildren, Kathryn, Sarah, Tara, Alasdair, Megan, Peter, William, Iain, Charlotte, Maggie, and John David.

The wake will be held on Friday, February 15th at Fairchild Sons Funeral Home on Franklin Avenue from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, February 16th at 2 p.m. at the Garden City Community Church. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked for any donations to be made to the Garden City Community Church, Whitehall & Stewart Avenues, Garden City, NY 11530 or to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, 1359 Broadway, Suite 1509, New York, NY 10018 (www.pdf.org).