Doralee Ruth White's Obituary
Doralee Ruth Clowes White Dec. 5, 1926 – Nov. 18, 2013 Resident of Oakland Born to Dr. Leo Clifford Clowes and Charlotte Pendry Clowes of Hindsdale, IL, Doralee loved learning and excelled in academics and in music and was Valedictorian of her Hindsdale High Class of 1944. She was the first woman of the marching band at North Western University and graduated from Vassar College in 1948 with a BA in Music and German. She earned a Masters’ in Music from University of Rochester Eastman School of Music and a Masters in Religious Education at St. Margaret’s House, CDSP, in Berkeley, California. She longed for the theological knowledge to teach her choirs the spiritual meaning behind the great choral works. From 1953, she returned home to Hindsdale to help her ailing mother. There she directed choirs in the area and held recitals of her private piano students in her family home. After her mother died in 1964, Doralee returned to California to start a new life. She bought a house in the Berkeley Hills which required lights over her many paintings. This is when she met the manager and owner of White Electric Company, Burch White. They married on Feb. 4, 1967 and have one daughter, Susan. Doralee poured herself into whatever she did, whether leading choirs, teaching, being a homemaker and mother, preparing dinners for Burch’s Rotary, and planning our many summer trips. She also taught Sunday School and children’s choir at St. Clements Church in Berkeley. Doralee loved discussing ideas and sharing books with special people. She also renewed her study of biblical and modern Hebrew in her later years. Most of all, she loved her Lord Jesus Christ and His Word and lived a life of prayer with and for others, in the midst of her many activities. She desired her friends and family to have a closer walk with her Lord as well. Survived by loving husband, Burch White and daughter, Susan F. White, both of Oakland. A Memorial service will be held Fri., Dec. 6, 2013 at 2pm, First Covenant Church, 4000 Redwood Rd., Oakland, CA. –
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