Dorothy Francis (Mieth) White
Dorothy Francis-Mieth White was born on February 12, 1920 in Cupertino, CA and passed away on October 30, 2015 in Santa Barbara, CA from natural causes. Dorothy was the daughter of Teodore Mieth, her father (born in Kansas City) and her Mother, Dora Irene Colver (born in Carson City, Nevada in 1882 and who died in 1964 in Santa Cruz, CA). Dorothy is survived by her two sons, Dean White born April 10, 1951, and Alan White, born June 4, 1947, both born in Merced California. Dorothy was the last remaining member of her original immediate family who included: Stanley Mieth (born in San Francisco in 1905 and passed in 2001 (age 96), he having lived through the 1906 earthquake and fire with his parents; Beatrice Mieth (Balue), born circa 1908 in Bay Area, CA; Edith May Mieth, born in 1917 in Cupertino, CA. Dorothy is also survived by grandchildren: Tedd and Kelly White (son and daughter of Dean and Kris Mainland-White), who reside in Santa Barbara, and step grandson Carlos and Ian White, son of Alan and Evangeline White, who reside in Oregon and Kailua, Hawaii respectively. She is also survived by her nieces and nephews: Barbara (Balue) McIntyre and her husband Tom MacIntyre; Ronald Balue and his wife Kay Balue; Carol (Theis) Achabal and her husband Dale Achabal; and Michelle Theis and her husband Marco Moros.
Dorothy had happy memories of her youth in the Santa Clara Valley growing up on an apricot ranch in Cupertino. Her father Teodore owned a clothing business in Palo Alto for 40 years and maintained the ranch that was sold in early 1950s. Dorothy attended University of Pacific for 2 years before she was married to Lloyd Tyler White (born in 1918 in Oakland CA to Lloyd and Janette White) in 1941 in the family ranch house in Cupertino. Dorothy remembered Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941) well which occurred shortly after their marriage and caused Lloyd to be deployed on ships that supplied the U.S. armed forces during WWII being a Chief Engineer in the merchant marine, having graduated from the California Maritime Academy in Vallejo, CA.
Dorothy always loved gardening, a hobby that stemmed from the influence of her father, an activity that she engaged in throughout her life. After the difficult time of WWII, she and Lloyd settled in Merced, CA where they embarked on the development of a 100 acre farm plot outside of the city and raised their 2 sons. During the period of 1947-1965, their primary occupation together with her brother-in-law and sister (Alvin and Edith Theis) was the establishment and operation of a water-system engineering business that catered to farmers and ranchers in the San Joaquin Valley.
Dorothy, Lloyd and family moved to Saratoga, CA in 1965 where she remained until Lloyd passed away in 1974 and subsequently moved to Santa Cruz where she resided until 2005. Upon the loss of her husband, Dorothy managed the Cook’s Automotive Parts Store in San Jose, CA of which she became the primary owner together with one business partner. Dorothy managed this unexpected challenge well and ultimately sold the business in the mid-1990s.
While Dorothy never remarried, she maintained a very active life as a business manager, volunteer, avid golfer and traveler to visit her son Alan and his wife Evangeline, among other travel adventures with her friends to Europe and Asia. Dorothy also visited her husbands’ brother, John A. White and his daughter Victoria, to whom she was close in Massachusetts. Dorothy loved the arts, enjoyed painting, appreciated good music and played the piano well. To quote her early musical interests, she said: “I remember the first conductor I heard was Pierre Monteux from France and I thought he was great. I now realize how special it was for this little country school in Cupertino to drive all the way to San Francisco to hear the symphony. Of course there was no traffic on those days, so it was really not too hard. My friend Ruth played the flute and one day we had to give a recital with me on the piano. I remember how nervous I was, but it did go OK!”
Dorothy was a devote Christian and followed the advice of Christian Science scriptures in her life and was able to maintain a sharp mind and keen interest in world affairs and those of her family until the time of her death. Dorothy also had a strong sense of family and was very supportive of her sons and their families and their various endeavors, both through thick and thin as well as being close with the sons and daughters of her 2 sisters. In 2005, Dorothy moved to the retirement community of Maravilla in Santa Barbara where she started a new and last phase of her life making many new friends while continuing to be engaged in group activities along with her family. Dorothy enjoyed her time at Maravilla and will be missed very much by all her family and friends after a long and well-lived life.