Wilma L White

Wilma Louise Yerty (Suffolk) White died on Saturday, June 22, 2019 in Lakeland, FL. She was 93. Wilma was born in Vandergrift, PA on December 15, 1925 to Margaret Leibee Yerty, who was then 42, and William Watson Yerty, aged 50. She was their only child. During her childhood, Wilma became an inveterate reader and throughout her long life was never without a book beside her chair. She played the piano and organ, loved music of all sorts, and sang in various church choirs during her peripatetic life. Following graduation from Vandergrift High School in 1943, where she was in the National Honor Society, Wilma attended nursing school at the Western Pennsylvania (West Penn) Hospital in Pittsburg as a member of the U.S. Cadet Nursing Corps. By the time she graduated in September 1946, however, World War II had ended and she did not have to serve in the military. Instead she stayed in Pittsburg and worked at West Penn Hospital.

There she met James H. (Jim) Suffolk of Donora, PA, who came in as a patient. They married on June 30, 1947 and subsequently had three daughters: Susan Louise Suffolk, born in 1950 and deceased in 1961; Janice (Jan) Suffolk Todd, Ph.D. who resides in Austin, Texas and directs the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center at the University of Texas at Austin; and Linda Lee Suffolk Carlisle, R.N. who lives in Plant City, FL. and works at Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center in Lakeland. During her marriage to Jim Suffolk the family moved frequently, living in Donora, PA; West Newton, PA, Joliet, IL; Anthony, TX; Beeville, TX; and Tampa, FL. In 1964, after their marriage ended, Wilma moved to Plant City, FL, and returned to nursing. In 1967 she married Raymond White and they divorced in 1974.

From 1964 to 1969, Wilma worked at South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City. She then moved to the Hillsborough County Health Department, where she worked for seven years before joining the state-run Children’s Medical Services (CMS) in Lakeland. She stayed with CMS until her retirement in 1991, and always claimed it was her favorite job because she loved working with children and because she made so many long-lasting friends there.

In Plant City, Wilma and her daughters became members of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, where she added her beautiful alto to the church choir, served on the altar guild, and participated in many church activities. She also joined the Plant City chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star and was twice Worthy Matron of the chapter. She also assisted at the Plant City Strawberry Festival; drove for Meals on Wheels, and did other charitable work in the city.

In 2000, Wilma moved to central Texas where she lived with her daughter, Jan, and son-in-law, Terry Todd, on their cattle ranch along the San Marcos River in Kingsbury, Texas. While living there, she also worked as a volunteer at Central Texas Medical Center in San Marcos; drove for Meals on Wheels again; and helped look after Jan, her husband, and the various cows, calves, draft horses, donkeys, emus, rabbits, peacocks, and multiple English mastiffs that lived on the ranch with them.

In 2007, she and the Todds moved to Austin so Jan and Terry could open The H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports, a research library and sports museum at The University of Texas at Austin. Wilma served as a volunteer at the Stark Center in the early years and sorted and catalogued thousands of photographs for the Center. While living in Austin, she attended St. Alban’s Episcopal Church and the Creedmoor Chapter of the Eastern Star. She also survived with aplomb two major floods at the Todd’s home in Onion Creek, and continued to drive until her 92nd birthday.

In September of 2018, Wilma decided to return to Florida and moved to the Arbor Hills Independent Living Community in Lakeland, a beautiful facility located close to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center where both her daughter, Linda, and her grand-daughter, Jill Carlisle Carrol work. Wilma enjoyed her new friends at Arbor Hills, loved spending time with Linda and her family, and was particularly happy to once again attend St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in nearby Plant City. Linda Carlisle was, thankfully, with Wilma at Lakeland Regional Medical Center when she unexpectedly passed away on June 22 from what the doctors described as cardiac/vascular complications. She had not been ill prior to this event.

Wilma is survived by her two daughters; by her grandson, Jeffrey Carlisle of St. Petersburg, FL; by granddaughter, Jill Carlisle Carroll and her husband, Jeffrey Carroll of Orlando; and by her great-grandson, Jesse Sutton. She is also survived by thousands of patients whose lives she touched as a nurse and by countless others who will never forget the unfailing kindness she displayed to everyone throughout her entire life.

Services to commemorate the life of Wilma Yerty White will be held at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Plant City, FL at 1:00 PM, on Sunday, July 14, 2019. Following the service, her ashes will be interred in the cremation garden outside the church alongside those of her daughter, Susan Suffolk. St. Peter’s is hosting a luncheon in the church parish hall at approximately 12:00 for those attending the service. The church is located at: 302 Carey St, Plant City, FL, 33563. All are welcome.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that contributions be made to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Plant City (www.stpetersplantcity.com) or, to the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center at the University of Texas at Austin www.starkcenter.org. Instructions for donations are available on both websites.