Missouri association co-founder dies

Thelma White, a founding member of the Route 66 Association of Missouri and a longtime owner of Whitehall Mercantile in the Route 66 hamlet of Halltown, Mo., died at age 83 on Tuesday in a nursing home in nearby Springfield, according to an obituary in the Springfield News-Leader.

White, an Indiana native, was a representative for Ozark Christian College, the wife of a minister, and helped establish the Show-Me Christian Children’s Home.

The Mother Road portion of her life is described below from the obituary:

Retiring from education in 1985 gave her more time to devote to Whitehall Mercantile, the antiques and collectibles store on Route 66 in Halltown, Mo., which she and Jerry owned. This eventually led to her interest in Route 66 and she became a founding member of the Route 66 Association of Missouri. People from all over the world stopped in the shop for a chance to visit with “the godmother of road,” as she was named in one newspaper article. Being a good listener, having a kind heart and displaying a great love for Jesus, her Savior, are some of the qualities that drew so many people to Thelma. Her family and friends will miss her daily presence.

Whitehall Mercantile’s website contains more information about her life regarding the Mother Road:

A native of Indiana, Thelma came to Missouri in 1949 to attend Ozark Bible College in Joplin. There she met and married Jerry White who grew up on a farm a few miles south of Halltown. Both being educators, they taught in several schools around the state through the years. Their lives came full circle in 1974 when they moved to the farm where Jerry was born and raised.

From 1985 to 2005 Thelma ran the store and also accompanied Jerry on buying trips. In 2006 she was ready to retire and began cutting back her hours. Then in December 2007, she suffered a stroke and was no longer able to run Whitehall Mercantile. Jerry took over the operation of the store with the help of one part-time worker, Dixie Dameron.

She wasn’t a roadie at first, but store visitors sparked her interest in the Main Street of America:

“I had a lot of people coming in and asking questions about Route 66. I wasn’t too sure of the answers so I started asking my own questions. As I learned the answers, I began formulating a network of people and I funneled information about Route 66 to people in California, New Mexico, Illinois and Arizona.”

Thelma White co-founded the Route 66 Association of Missouri in 1990 with Jim Powell. White even wrote a booklet, “Personalities of Route 66,” which is still available at the store.

Guy Randall, in his Road Wanderer site, told about his encounter with Whitehall Mercantile and Thelma a few years ago:

Within the walls of this old building, first built in 1900 and used as a grocery store I met Thelma White. Thelma is a road legend in her own right and has been involved with Route 66 for many years. What a delightful lady she is too. In her antique shop there’s so much to see I was convinced that it would take days to see it all. Treasures lined shelves and were displayed in glass cases. Objects from Route 66, antiques from rural America, and curios of all sorts where piled high, some reaching the old tin ceiling of this historic old building. But of course the real treasure here is Thelma herself.

We stood talking about Route 66 and the history of Halltown and I new it was times like these that made my explorations along the Mother Road so special. This was Route 66 in all its glory. Simple times like this, enjoying the company of strangers soon to be friends, drawn together by a common interest is what traveling the forgotten stretches of highways like Route 66 is all about. An experience like this is sorely missing from the fast paced world of the Interstates.

The funeral for Thelma White will be at 1 p.m. Saturday in Halltown Christian Church. She is survived by her husband, a daughter, a sister and a number of other relatives.

Memorials can be made to Alpha Christian Children’s Home, P.O. Box 727, Perry KS 66073-0727.

(Hat tip to Jeff “Roadologist” Meyer)

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