Johanna (nee Messinger) White, 72, of Spencerport, passed away from a long battle with lung cancer on Wednesday, January 29, 2020, after being an inpatient for ten days in the U of R Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester.
She was born at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, NY on July 21, 1947 and lived in Grahamsville, NY the first five years of her life. Subsequently, her family moved to Addison, NY. In Addison, Johanna distinguished herself while completing her studies and graduating from the Addison Central School District. Johanna finished her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the SUNY College at Brockport, and took a position as a teacher in the Brockport Central School District. Her career as a Kindergarten teacher spanned 30 years. Her outside of teaching interests included planting and caring for flowers, quilting with her friends, traveling, and cooking.
Johanna married Bert Greene in 1973; after 27 years of marriage, ill health claimed Bert’s life in 2007. In 2010 she attended her first high school reunion ever and reacquainted with her high school classmate Ron White. Later that year a budding relationship led the two of them to marry in 2014 and they both lived happily and with loads of love along the way.
She is survived by the love of her life, husband Ron White; feline child “Hobo”; brother-in-law Dennis D. White, Milwaukee, WI; step-son Joshua E. (Lisa and step-daughter Elle) White, Pepper Pike, OH; brother Kirk (Linda and their daughter Emily) Messinger, Colorado Springs, CO; brother Jan Messinger, McMinnville, OR.; and many nieces, nephews, and friends spread throughout the globe. Johanna was preceded in death by her father and mother Karl (Emma nee Casson) Messinger, an older sister who perished as an infant Mary Johanna Messinger, grandparents, aunts and uncles.
Per Johanna’s request there will not be a funeral service or calling hours. Interment will be conducted by the immediate family at their convenience. Her final resting place will be in the White family plot at Mt. Hope Cemetery, Troupsburg, NY.
Contributions in her memory can be made to Wilmot Cancer Institute, 601 Elmwood Ave., Rochester, NY 14642, www.urmc.rochester.edu or Lollypop Farm, 99 Victor Rd., Fairport, NY 14450, www.lollypop.org.
