Laura Mae Mitchell White, 89, of Springfield, went to be with her Lord on November 17, 2010, in her home after a long illness.
She was born April 14, 1921 to Lucy A. Hurd and Albert A. Mitchell on a farm near Wheatland, Mo. The family moved to Springfield when she was 9 years old.
Laura was the oldest of seven children. She left school after completing the eighth grade and began working as a live-in babysitter, sharing a bed with the children in her care.
Laura married John Howard White on July 12, 1941 in Springfield. They shared 55 years of marriage until his death in 1996. Laura and John Howard both worked at Lily Tulip and she worked at Sears for over 25 years, retiring at the age of 81.
At the age of 56, Laura enrolled in classes and passed the test for her GED. She was an excellent cook and seamstress and she enjoyed taking classes in cake decorating, sewing, painting, and flower arranging and used those talents for the enjoyment of her family and friends.
Laura was saved and baptized as a teenager in High Street Baptist Church and remained a member attending the Fellowship class until prevented by illness. Her faithful Christian life influenced her husband, children and grandchildren to follow in her footsteps as a Christian.
Laura was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; one son, Elby Alan White; one sister, Joanna Jones; and two brothers, John and Larry Mitchell.
She is survived by a daughter and her husband, Riley and Linda Casebolt, of Fair Play; one son and his wife, Melvin and Vicky White, Springfield; and a daughter-in law, Kathy White, West Plains; five grandchildren, Richard Casebolt, Holbrook, N.Y., Brian Casebolt, Brookfield, Cynde White and Paula Ponsar-Rust, Springfield and Amber Clayton, West Plains; 13 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren; two sisters, Gurtie Barton, Modesto, Calif., and Flora Mitchell, Springfield; and one brother, Jerry Mitchell, Willard, and many nieces and nephews.
Formal visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m., on Sunday, November 21, 2010 in Greenlawn Funeral Home North.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m., Monday, November 22, 2010, in Greenlawn Funeral Home North with Brother Gene Gwennap officiating. Burial will follow in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens.