Patricia Ungerer White

July 27, 1941 – March 15, 2025

Patricia Elizabeth Ungerer White, born July 27, 1941, in Wooster, Ohio, passed away from natural causes on March 15, 2025, in Tempe, Ariz.

She was preceded in death by her husband Leroy Allen White on February 4, 2025, and her parents Hazel Elizabeth Kaufman and Dale Franklin Ungerer.

She is survived by her daughter Jennifer White, 55, of Arizona; her son Andrew White, 53, and his wife Elizabeth Bridges White, 52, of Illinois. She has four grandchildren: Tatiania Narasimhan Rasic, 27, Kat White, 23, Elliot White, 14, and Oliver White, 11.

After marrying Leroy Allen White on December 3, 1966, Patricia worked as an English teacher in Ohio and supported the family while Lee completed his degree. When the family moved to Iraq in 1983-1984, she became the middle school principal at Baghdad International School. As a journalist in Ohio and Indiana she worked her way up from a line stringer doing freelance to work to editor. Patricia worked at various newspapers including the Rittman Press, Orrville Courier Crescent, and Wooster Daily Record in Ohio and the Noblesville Daily Ledger and Topics Newspapers in Indiana. She won awards for photography, editorials, and writing.

Highly respected and quick-witted, Pat was a master of the English language and a freethinker ahead of her time. She carried her camera and a sketchbook everywhere, preserving memories with photos, drawings, and words. In one sketchbook, Patricia wrote “One of my wishes in 2010 was that people be more willing and committed to listen to those on the other side of hot-button issues.”

Patricia’s greatest superpower was living in the present and encouraging those around her to see beauty in the world. She was an adventurer who loved great literature, the Sunday funnies, crosswords, fascinating and beautiful objects. Inspired by artists such as Diego Rivera, Georgia O’Keeffe, Marc Chagall, and expressionist/post-impressionist art movements such as Fauvism, Patricia embraced mixed-media art after her retirement. Her work was selected for art shows around Ohio, including at the WAGE Exhibition 2016 at Wayne Center for the Arts.

Patricia’s family fondly remembers her handmade cards, the newspaper clippings she would save for each of us, her diverse musical interests (from classical to Metallica), and the merciless beatings she would administer at Scrabble. Pat would gather whoever was around to watch Billy Elliot whenever it was on, always with a cat in tow. She would break into song or dance with little to no warning. As a mother and grandmother, she loved exploring nature, playing board games, and creating art. She fostered curiosity and a love of reading and encouraged all her children and grandchildren to explore their interests and passions.

Arrangements for a celebration of life will be made in the future. In lieu of flowers, please consider a charitable donation to The Nature Conservancy (gofund.me/f7bd7f0f) or The Alzheimer’s Association (gofund.me/3d5ce00e), two causes that were important to Pat.