Mary Nell Guinn White, 84, of Henderson passed away Wednesday, June 8, 2022 at her residence in Savannah.
Funeral services were 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 14, at Shackelford Funeral Directors – Crook Avenue Chapel, Henderson with Dr. Billy Smith officiating.
Burial followed at Henderson City Cemetery. The family received friends beginning at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 14, 2022.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Madonna Learning Center, 7007 Poplar Avenue, Germantown, TN 38138, 901-752-5767.
She was born July 15, 1937, in Savannah. She was the daughter of the late Edwin DeFord Guinn and the late Kate Godwin Guinn. She was raised in Henderson and graduated from Chester County High School in 1954. Upon graduation from high school, she attended Freed-Hardeman College and Memphis State University where she graduated with a Degree in Business. She was a member of the Alpha Delta Pi Sorority, DeSoto Beauty Queen and Sigma Chi Sweetheart.
She went on to teach fifth grade at Vollentine Elementary School until her daughter, Lisa, was born in Dec. 1964. After relocating to Houston, Texas, for several years, she moved to Henderson in 1972 where she began her career with Chickasaw Area Development Agency, now Southwest Human Resource Agency in the Head Start Education Program. Upon her retirement in 2000, she was the Director of Head Start over several counties in West Tennessee. She was a member of the Henderson Church of Christ.
She married Simon H. White of Savannah in December of 1988. They resided in Savannah, and she continued to maintain her home in Henderson as well. Mr. White preceded her in death in 2006.
She is survived by her daughter, Lisa Guinn Johnson Thomas; her grandson, Ethan Joyner Thomas, both of Memphis; a niece, Dr. Mary Ann Guinn of Henderson; her in-laws, Mr. and Mrs. John H. White, III of Savannah; and a nephew, Mr. John H. White, IV of Huntsville, Ala.
She was pre-deceased by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin DeFord Guinn; and her brother, Dan McCain Guinn.
