Joan Brasse White

Joan Brasse White, 90, wife of the late Rev. Raymond Lee White for 60 years, passed away surrounded by her family, April 8, 2025. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of the late Armand William and Lois Gillespie Brasse, Joan attended Columbus High School in Columbus, GA, where she met her future husband. After beginning her undergraduate degree at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, she married Ray on Sept. 5, 1955, and relocated to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where he finished his degree at the University of North Carolina. The young couple began their family in Chapel Hill before moving to Greensboro where their third child was born and Joan and Ray’s attendance at the Buffalo Presbyterian Church led to his call to ministry. Joan supported her husband through his studies at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA, from 1959 -1963 where they added two more children to their growing family. Joan began life as a Presbyterian minister’s wife in Talladega, AL. In 1967 the family moved home to Columbus, where Joan worked as an aid at the Listening Eyes School at Edgewood Presbyterian Church where Ray served for ten years. While in Columbus Joan discovered a love of exercise, playing tennis with her son, Todd. When her husband accepted a call to First Presbyterian Church of Greer in 1977, she began her life as a runner. Running became a family affair with generations participating for years in the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta. Joan herself ran the Peachtree 20 consecutive times. After her running days were done, she took daily walks without fail until her final months. Joan spent the remainder of her life in South Carolina where she completed her degree in social work from USC Spartanburg. After following her husband to pastoral calls in Simpsonville and Abbeville, the couple retired to their dream home that they had built by hand with the help of friends and family in Northern Greenville County in 2000. While there Joan worked at Skyland Elementary School and served as elder at the First Presbyterian Church of Landrum. In retirement, Joan and Ray and friend Betty Anne Landrum co-wrote the “Families, You Can’t Beat Them” curriculum, a domestic violence program which they lead in the Upstate. As one client explained, “Joan made the trains run on time.” After moving back to Greer proper, Joan treasured her time as a soup kitchen volunteer with Daily Bread Ministries. She loved to serve and took seriously her membership on the care of the congregation committee at First Presbyterian Greer which she attended until her passing. Joan devoted time and energy to visiting and sitting with those in need of personal care due to loss or illness. The consummate minister’s wife with a deep faith and servant’s heart of her own, Joan forever kept an immaculate house, ready to offer a warm welcome to any and all who dropped in. Talented in the kitchen, Joan shared her love of good food with family and community alike, always ready to make room for one more at her table. She was also a beloved mother, “Grandy”, and “Great-Grandy,” an avid reader who enjoyed family beach vacations, gardening, crocheting, dominos, and puzzles. She was a wise, strong woman equally quick to offer a casserole as to speak her mind. She was described by her oldest friend as a friend to many. Joan is survived by her children, Pam Mills (Joe) of Marietta, Georgia; Kim Gilmore of Greenville, South Carolina; Jeff White (Patty) of Greer, South Carolina; Todd White (Elizabeth) of Auburn, Alabama; and Ami Evans-White (Jeff) of Portland, Oregon; one brother, Bill Brasse of Woodside, California: grandchildren, Jessica Gibbons (Grant) of Columbia, South Carolina; Patrick Dover of Decatur, Georgia; Amanda Gorley (Zach) of Atlanta, Georgia; Alicia Mills (Rodger) of Woodstock, Georgia; Carly Bailey (Sean) of Hillsboro, North Carolina; Nicholas Basinger (Grace) of Athens, Georgia; Patrick Basinger (Gabi) of Edinburgh, Scotland; Olivia White (Josiah) of Grapevine, Texas; Harrison White (Grace) of Austin, Texas; and Owen White of New York City, New York; and six great-grandchildren, Kenneth Gorley, Noah Rose, Turner, Rae, and Laine Bailey, and Eloise Basinger. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, July 12, 2025, at First Presbyterian Church Greer, conducted by Rev. Will Shelburne and Rev. Ally Pexa. A visitation will be held immediately following the service at the Fellowship Hall of First Presbyterian Church Greer. Memorials may be made to the First Presbyterian Church Greer, 100 School Street, Greer, SC 29650. Online condolences may be made at www.thewoodmortuary.com.

Joan Brasse White

October 10, 1934 - April 8, 2025