Mabel Rodger White, age 89, of 2011 NE 22nd Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, died peacefully at her home on May 13, 2011. Her daughter Peggy White and son-in-law, Richard Clapper, reside in Peru, Massachusetts. Mabel had Parkinson's Disease for twenty-five years, but she continued to love life and faced her illness and final hours with remarkable courage and dignity.

Mabel was born June 8, 1921 in Chicago, Illinois. She was the only daughter of Francis Harris and Arthur (Thomas) Rodger, Sr.

She was predeceased by her beloved husband of fifty-nine years, LaVere G. White, M.D., in 2003, and her brother, Arthur Thomas Rodger, Jr., of Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2009.

Survivors include daughter Peggy White, a son, Thomas G. White of Charlottesville, Virginia, daughter Jeanne Johnson of Mansfield, Connecticut; and two granddaughters, Kristi Green of Austin, Texas and Sarah Overton of San Diego, California; great-grandson, Joshua Green; daughter-in-law, Sheida White, son-in-law, Richard Clapper; nieces Gail Coombs and Susan Rodger; and nephew Brad Rodger.

Mabel attended Grinnell College and the University of Iowa, where she received a B.A. in Liberal Arts and an M.A. in Clinical Psychology and graduated with honors. She was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.

She married LaVere G. White in 1944. The Whites moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1954. Mabel "Mae" was active in the Broward County Medical Auxiliary for thirty years and on the Auxiliary State Board for thirteen years, serving as state chairwoman of AMA-ERF Health Projects, Mental Health, Communications, Public Relations, and Health Careers. She founded the Auxiliary Beeper and was its editor for four years. In 1983, she received the Peggy Wilcox Award for outstanding service to the Auxiliary.

Mae also did volunteer work as a psychologist and mental health advocate, member of the Broward County League of Women Voters, member of her church, and member of the South Florida Chapter of the American Parkinson's Disease Association. She was on the Board of Family Services, part of United Way, and was a past president of the Broward County Mental Health Association.

She edited a newsletter for the Broward County League of Women Voters, and served as Trustee for the First Congregational Church and as Board Member for the South Florida Chapter of the American Parkinson's Disease Association. When she received the Peggy Wilcox award, one of her colleagues, Jane Eberly, wrote that "imposing as her credits [in community service] are, Mae is first and last, a friend, a warm and lively gal, fun to be with, and always ready to listen and help."

According to her children, the three words that best represent her life are empathy, service, and fun.

The family will receive friends at the Baird Case Jordan Fannin Funeral Home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Wednesday, May 18, 2011 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. A funeral service will be held on Thursday, May 19, 2011, at 2:00 p.m. in the First Congregational Church, 2501 Northeast 30th Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with interment to follow in Lauderdale Memorial Park- Mausoleum, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.