Charlotte Annley "Ann" White

Our beloved Mother and Sister, Charlotte Annley White was born into this world on November 5, 1922 in Walloon Lake, Michigan. Annley grew up to possess a strong faith in God and her life was a constant example to those around her. Annley was the oldest girl and second child born to Howard and Leona Thayer. Being the oldest girl in a family of 12 children, Annley spent much of her youth mothering her younger siblings. Annleys children have always been thankful to their aunts and uncles for allowing Annley to hone her mothering skills on them. When Annley married and had her own children, as a mother, her children believed she was second to none. She always placed her childrens needs above her own and always had a word to the wise as they were growing up. Her love just naturally extended to her grandchildren and her childrens spouses who grew to adore their Grandmother and mother-in-law, and who all have wonderful memories of going to Grandmas house in Petoskey for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Annley grew up in a much different time than the present. I once asked my Mother what it was like to grow up during the Great Depression and she said that she hardly noticed it as money had always been in short supply for the young Thayer family. She always taught her children to appreciate small blessings because when she was growing up, some years her only Christmas present was likely to be an orange. But what a WONDERFUL orange! Her daily routine when she was in high school was to help get her brothers and sisters up and ready for school, then go out and help with the morning farm chores, then change her clothes and walk the 4 miles to school in Boyne City. Annley learned to appreciate family, responsibility, and the value of hard work at a very young age. She would tell her grandchildren a story about her first summer away from home. She was only twelve. Because her folks didnt have much money they sent her to live with and work for a woman and her bed-ridden husband. Annley was 10 miles away and was unable to come home until it was time to return to school in the fall. All that summer she cooked, cleaned, and did everyday chores for the older couple. She said that it was the hardest, worst, and scariest job she ever had. On top of that, all the money she made was sent home to help her parents care for her brothers and sisters. Annley worked every summer after that one, but never in a job she hated as much. Her future summers were full of friends, sun and fun, as well as hard work. Anns first summer away from home was a valuable life experience that taught her the value of family, strength and determination. She put this to good use all her life. Annleys mother Leona was a remarkable woman whose influence very much shaped the compassionate woman that Annley became. Leona possessed a strong Christian faith and imparted the importance of education to her children. Annley always tried hard to stay on the honor roll while in school and graduated from Boyne City High School. After Annley graduated from school, she found herself working for a family who lived on Rose Street in Petoskey, Michigan. Around this time she first met her future husband, Ed White, who happened to live just around the corner. In 1943, at the age of 20, Annley found her independence when she and her beloved sister Jane went to work in Ypsilanti at the Willow Run Bomber plant, welding B-24 bombers for use during World War II. Married life started out for Annley in Oklahoma where her husband Ed was stationed while he trained for service with the Navy. Their first son Eddie was born in Oklahoma in 1944. After Ed was shipped out to serve in the south Pacific, Annley moved back to Boyne City where she lived for the remainder of the war. When the war was over, Ed, Annley and Eddie moved to Petoskey where Ed found employment at the post office. Annleys family grew to include Linda, born in 1947, and David, born in 1954. Raising her children was Annleys Anns main priority. She loved to read to her children and tried to be involved in whatever activities they were in. As a family they loved going for drives on Sunday afternoons, singing songs such as From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli. Some Sundays the family would end up at the farm where Ann was raised. While the adults got caught up, the children enjoyed the freedom the farm offered, chasing the chickens and being chased by the rooster, and playing with any of the cousins who happened to be there. Ann faced a challenge no mother wants to endure when her son Eddie was stricken with polio at the age of 10. Eddies doctors warned that his illness would most likely be fatal. Unwilling to give up, Ann and her mother Leona, both having a strong faith in God, stayed by her sons bed side and Eddie finally pulled through. He gained strength and eventually became a lettered athlete in High School. Committed to her family, Ann worked outside the home from time to time so she could afford to buy her growing children clothes for the new school year, a special treat now and then for the dinner table, and other things her children told her they just could not live without. Not learning to drive a car until the late 1960s, Ann walked to her jobs starting out with shift work at a manufacturing plant across town. Later, Ann worked for her husbands uncle at the Emmet County Treasurers office, and then at Kilborns bookstore in downtown Petoskey. Eventually, after her youngest son was in school full time, she found a job as a cook in the Petoskey School system. Ann worked at the school for 20 years. She found this job very rewarding as she loved to be around children, and the children who might ask for an extra slice of pizza, and usually got it, loved to talk to her at lunch time. Ann was a member of the United Methodist Church in Petoskey, the Assembly of God Church in Petoskey, and the Church of the Dunes in Grand Haven. In her retirement, she moved to Grand Haven to be closer to her children. Ann spent the last portion of her life surrounded by the love of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. We all feel a great void with our mothers passing. We will miss her very, very much.