Sandra Jean White (nee: Johnson) was born in Kenosha, WI on October 4, 1944, to Elgar “Al” Johnson and Anna Johnson (nee: Stupak). She grew up in Kenosha with her parents and younger brother Pat in a duplex where she ate fresh vegetables from their huge garden. The siblings were raised Episcopalian and attended St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. Sandy went to junior high and high school as a day student at Kemper Hall.
Sandy graduated from Kemper Hall in 1962 and attended the University of Wisconsin Extension in Kenosha, where she met Thomas White. The two married on January 25, 1964, and soon had two children, Thomas Allen White and Robert White.
She had her hands full as a stay-at-home mom, babysitting her niece, Jennifer Johnson, taking care of Thom, who struggled with ADHD and OCD, and Rob, who was just a royal pain. She was a present mother, participating in support groups for Thom, negotiating deals for Rob to stay out of trouble, and baking Christmas cookies with the two every year.
After the boys started junior high, Sandy followed in her mother’s footsteps and began selling real estate. For over four decades she worked at Bear Realty, Prudential Premier Properties, and Berkshire Hathaway, and co-owned and operated Keller Williams Realty in Kenosha. She was a past Vice President of the Wisconsin Realtors Association, a past Treasurer of the Kenosha Realtors Association, and the President of the Board of Directors for Northgate Condominiums for many years.
She was a hardworking, skilled realtor. After their first grandchild, Kaila was born, she and Tom helped Rob, and his wife Kim find and buy a home in Phoenix which they still live in today. Sandy was outgoing, outspoken, and fair, traits that earned her respect in business despite being not just a woman and mother, but also barely 5 feet tall.
Her maverick streak grew after she and Tom divorced in 1999. She played cards around town and in Las Vegas casinos with a group of close-knit women. She took her grandchildren, Kaila and Mitchel, on trips through Europe when they graduated from high school, buying them each their first real cocktails. She was known to enjoy a 7&7 and a Brandy Old Fashion sweet with olives.
As she aged, years of pushing her body began to take a toll. Sandy had been diagnosed in her 30’s with Charcot-Marie-Tooth, a degenerative nerve disease that atrophied her legs. She had surgeries on her feet and knees to preserve her mobility and independence.
Despite what she was going through, she always showed up for others. She served as Board President for the Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha in 2002 and 2003. After Thom came out, she and Thom attended a Chicago Pride Parade where she wore a shirt that said, “I love my gay son.” Recently, when her cousin and lifelong friend Candace Fessenden’s family experienced a crisis, Sandy called her every day, offering spiritual support.
This year, just months after beating colon cancer, Sandy was taken by complications following a total hip replacement. Pat, Jennifer, and Jennifer’s husband Joe Nosalik stayed by her side through it all. After two grueling weeks in the ICU, Sandy found peace at Hospice Alliance. There, she visited with her sons, grandchildren, friends, and card group, who made her smile. Sandy White passed away on August 22, 2024.
Her death was a shock, evidenced by how much she lived in what we now know were her final years. She and her cousins traveled to where their grandparents lived in Mezhybrody, Ukraine. She attended outdoor concerts with Pat and his wife Sandy. She mailed homemade Christmas cookies to Saudi Arabia where Mitchel was stationed. She wore matching team shirts with Jennifer and Joe to her great-niece Abigail’s swim meets. She shared fried foods at the Minnesota State Fair with Kaila and her husband Evan Roberts. She talked to her close friend Debbie Jumper almost every day and her son Thom every night.
Those who loved Sandy may find comfort in the fact she was always open about death and felt it was in God’s hands. Earlier this year, when she was sick, she told Candace she had lived a wonderful life and was not afraid to die.
She is survived by her sons, Thomas and Robert (wife Kim); her grandchildren, Kaila (husband Evan) and Mitchel (wife Michele); brother, Patrick (wife Sandy); half-sister, Judith; niece, Jennifer Johnson (husband Joe Nosalik); nephew, Matthew Johnson and great-niece, Abigail Nosalik.
Sandy was preceded in death by her parents.
The family would like to extend a special thank you to Gina, whose help and care allowed Sandy to remain in her home; her life-long friend Debbie who was so very helpful; and her high school friend and travel buddy Pat. In addition, the family would also like to thank the ICU doctors and nurses at Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital, especially Dr. Majed Jandali, as well as the staff at Hospice Alliance.
Service Date October 12, 2024
SERVICE LOCATION St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church
Memorial services honoring Sandy’s life will be held on Saturday, October 12, 2024.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 5900 7th Ave., Kenosha.
The Mass will be streamed live on the Piasecki Funeral Home Facebook page. The livestream can be viewed by anyone (even those who do not have a Facebook account) at facebook.com/PiaseckiFuneralHome/live/.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to Boys and Girls Club of Kenosha, 1330 52nd St, Kenosha, WI 53140 https://www.bgckenosha.org/; St Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 5900 7th Ave, Kenosha, WI 53140, https://www.stmatthewskenosha.net/; Hospice Alliance, Inc., 10220 Prairie Ridge Blvd, Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158, https://www.hospicealliance.org/; or the Shalom Center, 4314 39th Ave, Kenosha, WI 53144 https://www.shalomcenter.org/donate/ are appreciated by the family.
