Obituary of Jean White

Jean Siegwarth White, of Pequannock, NJ, passed away peacefully on January 8, 2025.  She was born on May 2, 1931 in Orange, NJ, to Walter and E. Irene Siegwarth. Jean was raised in the Vailsburg section of Newark, and graduated from Westside High School in 1949. She fondly remembered spending summers with her family at Culver’s Lake.

Jean graduated from West Chester State College with a degree in Music Education.  She taught music in Camden NJ, Bel Air MD, and first grade at the Riverdale School.  While teaching in Bel Air, she met another music teacher who was also a NJ native, Donald White.  They were married in 1955. 

Jean was a homemaker for 25 years. During that time, she raised four children, was president of a nursery school, violist in the Pompton Valley Symphonetta, and a Girl Scout Leader. She later worked as a home health aide, and then spent several years working in early childhood education at Parsippany Child Daycare Center. 

Jean loved gardening and watching sports on TV, especially the Mets, March Madness, and the Olympics.  She was an accomplished singer, and sang soprano for many years in the William Paterson University Choir.

Jean was predeceased by her husband Donald, her parents, and her brother, LTJG Donald Edwin Siegwarth.  Her brother has been Missing In Action since 1966, and she never gave up hope that his remains would someday be repatriated. She is survived by her four children, Carolyn, Jennifer, Cynthia, and a devoted son, six grandchildren, and 12 great grandchildren. 

A Memorial Service will be held on Friday, January 17, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, 9 Two Bridges Road, Towaco, NJ, where Jean was a long-time member. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to Mission: POW-MIA.