Emily Wallenfels Gruen White, March 25, 1921~ January 16, 2011 The world has seen the passing of a woman of astonishing intelligence, literacy, kindness, and love. She was a loving wife, mother, and a wonderful grandmother. Emily loved to swim, write poetry, and spoke several languages. Alas, she was a terrible cook. Emily G. White was born on March 25, 1921, in Vienna, Austria. Her father was part of the U.S. diplomatic corps in Europe before the Second World War. After she witnessed the Nazi takeover of Austria during World War II, her family left Vienna, made their way to England, and then journeyed, in 1940, to the United States. She attended several colleges, including Swarthmore, the University of California at Berkeley, UCLA, and the University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana. She received a master’s degree in psychology, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. During her studies, she married Walter Gruen and had a daughter, Marion Anderson. Later, she met and married James C. White and had four children, Anita, Wallace, Raymond, and Margaret. In addition to being a wonderful mother to her children, Emily was a very effective counselor. She worked as a child psychologist and, through local counseling organizations, helped many people with their problems. Emily loved to play the piano, write poems, swim, play tennis, and paint. Opera was always a great passion—she never missed a Metropolitan Opera Saturday afternoon broadcast. Although she and Jim had different backgrounds, they found common ground in their love of poetry, literature, New Yorker cartoons, and each other. Theirs was a fiery, passionate union with many sparks! They had many long-standing and loving friends who they welcomed into their home as often as possible. Emily was honored on Friday, January 21, 2011 at 11 a.m. Visitation at 10 a.m. Prayer service Thursday, January 20 at 6 p.m. All services were held at St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church, 35th and Irving Avenue South.
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