MOHAWK – A longtime Mohawk Valley resident and former Rosie the Riveter, Marilynn Jean White, has died at age 94.
Known by most people as “Jean,” White was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1924. She weighed less than two pounds at birth, according to her obituary.
White left high school to work at Boeing Aircraft in Seattle during WWII, where she worked as a riveter’s assistant – or “Rosie the Riveter” – building B-29 bombers. You can find her story in the national Historic Trust WWII Rosie the Riveter Museum in Richmond, California, and in a “Rosie Stories” book.
While in Seattle, White met her husband, Robert, whom she was married to for 44 years before his death in 1988.
In 2016, White – who never got to finish high school – was given a Central Valley Academy high school diploma.
White was a member of the Crowley Barnum American Legion Auxiliary for more than 70 years, a founding member of the Alexander Hose Company Auxiliary in Mohawk, docent at the Utica Zoo, and she spent two decades playing Mrs. Claus in the Mohawk Valley. She was also a member of the Mohawk Reformed Church for more than 70 years.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 31 at the Whiter-Hendrix Funeral Home, located at 100 Otsego St. in Ilion.
