La Grange’s Josephine (Jo) White Turns 100
She was Born on Day of First Presidential Election (1920) That Women Could Vote In
On Monday La Grange’s Josephine (Jo) White celebrated her 100th birthday by visiting with friends and family during a doctor’s visit at her son’s medical office — and enjoying some homemade banana nut birthday cake, her personal favorite.
Longtime friend Jo Anne Gore presented White with a beautiful handmade quilt Monday as a birthday present
White was also honored with a large family gathering on Sunday.
The birthday girl was kind enough to grant an interview with The Fayette County Record, and in front of a reporter and well-wishers, she recounted tales from an amazing full life, including when she saved a woman’s life with an emergency donation of blood in Mexico, and the time a San Antonio police officer tracked her down to return her missing purse, using clues from the only personal item inside the purse — a love note.
Even at 100, White’s memory for details is amazing.
“If I forget something, I ask her,” laughed her son, Dr. Daniel White of La Grange. “I don’t think there’s anyone who knows more about Texas history than her.”
Jo White has written one book, “Sunbonnet Angels” about the Scots-Irish women of early Texas and is working on another said her son.
Born on the election day of the very first time women could vote back in 1920, White has always held the responsibility of voting in very high regard and she even voted in the most recent election.
When asked about her secret to longevity, White said it was probably eating a lot of the special beans and cornbread her mother made so often for her as a child.
The most amazing advancements she has seen during her life were in the field of medicine, said White, who was a longtime nurse.
White is especially proud of her family and she is working on scrapbooks to give to her children and grandchildren that will preserve the family history.
Her loving family put together a biography of White’s life and we are glad to share it here:
On Tuesday, November 2nd, 1920, on what was his 55th birthday, Republican nominee Warren G. Harding defeated Democratic candidate James M Cox to become the 29th President of the United States. While Americans everywhere celebrated Harding’s victory, and while women in particular, relished in what was their first time to vote in a presidential election in the US, just west of Fort Worth, a little girl was being born in the oilfield boom town of Cisco, Texas.
Josephine Ella White, born to Oscar Thomas and Mary Elizabeth “Bessie” Denson White, would go on to lead quite the exceptional life for a woman born in 1920. By 1922 she was being reared in rural Bee County, where her family struggled to make ends meet farming the south Texas land. Despite the odds, Jo graduated from Beeville High School in 1938, having completed business school college credit courses throughout her senior year, thus setting herself up for a move to San Antonio and what would be a long and successful career in the medical field throughout Texas.
It was in San Antonio that Jo met her future husband, Melvin Ashley White. The pair would go on to have three sons as they moved around south Texas following Melvin career with Southwestern Bell, making countless lifelong friends with each stop. Raising her family and truly enjoying her work in the various doctors’ offices and hospitals where they lived, kept Jo busy, but not so much so that she didn’t further her interests in all things Texas.
A very proud sixth generation Texan, Jo became active in the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and the Daughters of the American Revolution. She devoted countless hours to genealogical research and the improvements of rural cemeteries in central Texas where she traced her roots back to Fayette County. It was in Fayette County that she and Melvin would eventually retire, and where Jo would finally finish writing her book “Sunbonnet Angels.” After being published, this tribute to the Scots-Irish women of early Texas was turned into a play by educators and has since been used widely to introduce this story of pioneer women to school children.
After 100 years, Jos interest in all things Texas remains as strong as ever. She enjoys spending her time journaling, working on her genealogy, following current events, and perhaps most of all, keeping up with all of her family. She lives in La Grange and is lucky enough to be surrounded by her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Jos American century is a proud part of our Nation’s remarkable story, and we hope her heart is filled with joy knowing she has experienced this country’s greatest blessing the freedom and affection of family and friends over a long, well-lived life