Ada Pearl White

Ada Pearl White, 104, passed away Monday, April 15, 2013.

She was born Oct. 3, 1908, in Gonzales County to Henry and Louisa Thornton Keck. Ada married William E. White on March 23, 1929, in Gonzales. Ada had been a long-time member of the First Baptist Church, the XYZ Club and had been active with her Sunday school class at the First Baptist Church.

As a young girl, Ada might have very well be found picking cotton, hauling hay, milking cows, pulling corn, putting-up and shelling corn. Ada was a hard worker, she never complained, she enjoyed being productive. If there was an opportunity to work, Ada just naturally asserted her many talents to completing the task. Ada had worked in the office at the local auction barn and worked as a seamstress in her home mending and making alterations to clothing. She was a meticulous gardener, her lawn and flower gardens were kept preened and lush. She was well into her 90s before she relinquished the mowing of her lawn to her son-in-law, merely because previous attempts to hire it done didn’t pass her job-quality inspection. She started the flower garden at her church and took great pride in the aesthetics the flowers added to the grounds. Ada also kept the nursery at her church for a number of years, a challenge she was well suited to serve. Ada’s natural ability to nurture tender young lives and watch them blossom in the presence of the Son is a play on words relevant to her gardening skills, but it is also a testament to her faith, patience and love of people.

In her 104 years, Ada was never in awe of the great inventions that had come to pass, nor did she bemoan the world’s many tragedies she endured through the ages. Ada was a brave and selfless woman; she, in her late 90s, broke her ankle late one evening, but didn’t notify the nursing staff or her family until the next morning just because she didn’t want to put anybody out or cause a fuss so late in the day. Her favorite memories were the enduring memories of simpler times, finishing her chores as a young girl and sharing a red soda and ice cream float with a friend at a local store in Cost. Herein, Ada leaves us with a profound message, with all of today’s luxuries and magnificent sights and sounds, none compares to the beauty of a simple flower blossom or that special moment with a good friend, sharing a red soda and ice cream float.

Ada Pearl White is survived by her loving daughter and son-in-law, Billie J. and Harold Bruns of Gonzales, grandson Tommy Bruns and wife Theresa, and great-grandchildren Chris and Cody Bruns. She was preceded in death by her parents and seven siblings.

Funeral services will be held 10 a.m. Thursday, April 18, in Seydler-Hill Funeral Home, with Pastor Andy Smith officiating and Rev. Steve Faulkner assisting. Interment will follow in Gonzales Memorial Park. Pallbearers are Pal Lester, Tommy Lester, Chris Bruns, Cody Bruns, L. H. Bruns, Lynn Cochran, Buddy Lester and Joe Britt Hindman. Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church, the First United Methodist Church or the charity of one’s choice. The family will receive friends at the funeral home 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, April17. Services are under the care and direction of Seydler-Hill Funeral Home.