Marilyn White

Marilyn White, 91, passed away Sunday, April 23, 2017. Services will be held at Heartland Presbyterian Church, 14300 Hickman Road in Clive, IA with visitation on Thursday, April 27 from 5 to 7 p.m. and the funeral service on Friday, April 28 at 1:00 p.m. Private burial will be at Red Oak Grove Cemetery in Tipton, Iowa.

Marilyn was born July 4, 1925 to Effie (Safley) and John C. Milner in Des Moines, Iowa, and grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She attended Cornell College and the University of Iowa, earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Art. Her first job out of college was at Younkers in Des Moines as a Layout Artist. She married Clifford Milo White on July 27, 1950 at Central Presbyterian Church in Des Moines. The couple lived in Des Moines and Pella, Iowa, and in Omaha, Nebraska.

Marilyn enjoyed all of the fine arts: art, theater, classical music, and literature. She treasured her large library of books and read the newspaper daily. She loved playing cards, hosting foreign exchange students, annual family vacations, and trips abroad to France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, England and Scotland. A member of the Presbyterian Church and the Reformed Church of America, she held a strong faith. She was a member of AAUW, bridge club, and on the library board in Pella. Marilyn inspired an appreciation of the arts in her children and grandchildren with trips to art museums, concerts and the theater.

She will be greatly missed by her children, Holly (Jeff) Kooistra and John (Marue) White; son-in-law, Tom Gard; grandchildren, Lyndsay (Marcus Kroloff) Kooistra, Elise (Michael Sullivan) Kooistra-Sullivan, Benjamin (Megan) White, Stephen (Rachel) White, Jesse (Miranda) White, Katie Gard, Jennifer (Shang) Sengla, and Suzi (Beckett) Love; great-grandchildren, Holden Sullivan, Meara Sullivan, Daniel Kroloff and Leon White. Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents; her sister, Sharon Ann Pedersen; her husband, Cliff White; and their daughter, Laurel Suzanne Gard.

Memorials may be directed to West Hills Presbyterian Church, 3015 S. 82nd Ave., Omaha, NE 68124, designated for the church library. Condolences may be expressed online at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.

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