Obituary for Allene M. White
ALLENE M. WHITE
1/17/1925 — 4/1/2024
Brooklin
Allene Claire (Messer) White was born January 17, 1925, to Nellie J. LeClair and Fred P. Messer of Claremont, NH. Allene’s two sisters predeceased her: Nina L. Messer, secretary at the Dartmouth Woolen Mill in NH and Elna C. Messer, a Commander of Navy nurses. Their father was a papermaker. Allene attended Stevens High School in Claremont, where she was fondly known as “Mess” or “Little Mess.” These were the war years, but Allene recalled the Victory gardens (asparagus!), her first job in a department store (selling nylons with seams up the back), and traveling in Europe after the war, when the fares were cheap.
She attended Boston University and met her future husband in a Charles St. coffee shop. Joel’s father wrote that his son was “deep in the middle of love, love, love and is going to bust out of college if he doesn’t come up for air.” They married in early 1953 and Joel finished his naval architecture degree at M.I.T. Two babies and a stint in the U.S. Army followed. Allene accompanied Joel to Germany, with their toddler Joel Steven and baby Martha. Everyone learned a little German except for Joel. In 1956, they returned on the USS Upsure, met by Katharine and E.B. White, in Brooklyn, NY. He called the ship the Upstart, while Allene, no stranger to seasickness even then, called it the Upchuck.
Back in Maine, Arno Day hired Joel as a boatbuilder in Center Harbor, where Joel later founded the Brooklin Boat Yard. John Shepley White completed their family in 1959. In her spare time, Allene kept the books for the BBY, writing invoices in longhand and braving the icy steps of the sardine factory with a hatchet. She became a regular at Frank and “Lady” (Myrtle) Day’s house, near their Benjamin River rental, collecting the best recipes for doughnuts, baked beans, and spice cookies. She lent a hand with the PTA, Four Town Nursing, Friend Memorial Public Library, and she raised Golden Retrievers. For about 35 years, she wrote a weekly food column for The Ellsworth American, originally called Mutual Benefit, and syndicated in The Portland Press Herald and Boothbay Register.
Allene was predeceased by her husband, Joel M. White, in 1997. She leaves Joel Steven White (& Jen Sansosti White) of Brooklin; Martha White (& Taylor Allen) of Rockport, ME; and John (& Sandy White), of Brooklin and Venice, FL; plus, many beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and decades of close friends and neighbors. Of special note are Dana and Heather Candage, of Brooklin, longtime friends and devoted caretakers, who made it possible for Allene to stay at home long after she’d given up the car keys; as well as Patty (and Jimmy) Hutchinson, who graced those final months. We thank them all and raise a glass to the many gifts of living in a small town -- most notably the people. Memorial donations can go to the Friend Memorial Public Library, P.O. Box 57, Brooklin, ME 04616.
Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com
1/17/1925 — 4/1/2024
Brooklin
Allene Claire (Messer) White was born January 17, 1925, to Nellie J. LeClair and Fred P. Messer of Claremont, NH. Allene’s two sisters predeceased her: Nina L. Messer, secretary at the Dartmouth Woolen Mill in NH and Elna C. Messer, a Commander of Navy nurses. Their father was a papermaker. Allene attended Stevens High School in Claremont, where she was fondly known as “Mess” or “Little Mess.” These were the war years, but Allene recalled the Victory gardens (asparagus!), her first job in a department store (selling nylons with seams up the back), and traveling in Europe after the war, when the fares were cheap.
She attended Boston University and met her future husband in a Charles St. coffee shop. Joel’s father wrote that his son was “deep in the middle of love, love, love and is going to bust out of college if he doesn’t come up for air.” They married in early 1953 and Joel finished his naval architecture degree at M.I.T. Two babies and a stint in the U.S. Army followed. Allene accompanied Joel to Germany, with their toddler Joel Steven and baby Martha. Everyone learned a little German except for Joel. In 1956, they returned on the USS Upsure, met by Katharine and E.B. White, in Brooklyn, NY. He called the ship the Upstart, while Allene, no stranger to seasickness even then, called it the Upchuck.
Back in Maine, Arno Day hired Joel as a boatbuilder in Center Harbor, where Joel later founded the Brooklin Boat Yard. John Shepley White completed their family in 1959. In her spare time, Allene kept the books for the BBY, writing invoices in longhand and braving the icy steps of the sardine factory with a hatchet. She became a regular at Frank and “Lady” (Myrtle) Day’s house, near their Benjamin River rental, collecting the best recipes for doughnuts, baked beans, and spice cookies. She lent a hand with the PTA, Four Town Nursing, Friend Memorial Public Library, and she raised Golden Retrievers. For about 35 years, she wrote a weekly food column for The Ellsworth American, originally called Mutual Benefit, and syndicated in The Portland Press Herald and Boothbay Register.
Allene was predeceased by her husband, Joel M. White, in 1997. She leaves Joel Steven White (& Jen Sansosti White) of Brooklin; Martha White (& Taylor Allen) of Rockport, ME; and John (& Sandy White), of Brooklin and Venice, FL; plus, many beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and decades of close friends and neighbors. Of special note are Dana and Heather Candage, of Brooklin, longtime friends and devoted caretakers, who made it possible for Allene to stay at home long after she’d given up the car keys; as well as Patty (and Jimmy) Hutchinson, who graced those final months. We thank them all and raise a glass to the many gifts of living in a small town -- most notably the people. Memorial donations can go to the Friend Memorial Public Library, P.O. Box 57, Brooklin, ME 04616.
Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com