Lory Louise White

Lory Louise Levy White, 71, passed away on August 21, 2026, in Houston, Texas, leaving behind a family who loved her beyond words and a lifetime filled with faith, family, friendship, animals, art, sports, and more interests than could possibly fit into one obituary.

Lory was born on November 15, 1954, in Dallas, Texas, to Maurice and Dorothy Levy. After losing her mother when she was just three years old, Lory was raised by her father and her loving stepmother, Margaret Levy. She grew up alongside her brothers, Dory Levy and Morgan Levy, and graduated from Texas Woman’s University with a Bachelor of Science degree on May 14, 1977. However, if you asked Lory what she wanted most from life, it wasn’t a degree, a career, or an impressive title. She wanted to be a wife and a mother.

On May 24, 1975, she married Pat Murphy White, the love of her life. Together, they built the life Lory had always wanted. They welcomed their son, David Gordon White, in 1978 and their daughter, Rebekah Danielle White, in 1981. Lory chose to stay home with her children because she didn’t see raising her family as standing in the way of the life she wanted. It was the life she wanted.

Her brother Morgan perhaps described it best: if someone had told Lory when she was a little girl that her future would be marrying the man of her dreams, spending more than half a century with him, raising two children she adored, and eventually becoming a grandmother, she would have been absolutely delighted to know that was her destiny.

At the center of that life was her faith.

Lory came to know Jesus Christ in her teens, and she never looked back. Her faith wasn’t simply something she professed; it shaped the way she lived. She loved Scripture and was always seeking to deepen her understanding of God’s Word. Even as her health declined, her Bible studies remained central to her life.

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). Those words describe Lory well. She loved God wholeheartedly, and her family takes tremendous comfort in knowing that the faith she carried throughout her life has now become sight.

When she was younger, Lory poured that faith into serving others. She was a Pioneer Girls leader, participated in Awana Club, and even performed puppet shows with Pat as part of their church involvement. She loved people, and she had a remarkable ability to make friends almost anywhere.

Pat has always said that Lory could talk to a brick wall and get it to talk back.

And he wasn’t exaggerating.

Lory was outgoing, gregarious, curious about people, and genuinely interested in them. She could strike up a conversation just about anywhere, and kindness came naturally to her. Neighborhood children knew her as the lady who was always happy to hand out candy. She loved giving, talking, laughing, and making people feel welcome.

As her children grew up, Lory was the quintessential PTA mom. If there was a field trip, there was a very good chance she was chaperoning it. If there was a school activity, she found a way to be involved. She co-coached Odyssey of the Mind alongside Pat and enthusiastically supported whatever her children were interested in, which resulted in her being just as interested as they were.

That was another thing about Lory: she didn’t really do anything halfway.

Whatever caught her interest, she went “full hog.”

She was a wonderfully talented artist, especially gifted in calligraphy, with beautiful handwriting and a pen collection to prove just how seriously a person can take good penmanship. She loved science fiction, anime, comic conventions, and animated movies and was often just as excited about a new release as her children were.

Then there were the Westerns.

Lory loved horses for virtually her entire life. As a little girl, she would rather dress up like a cowboy than play house, and that fascination never disappeared. She loved Western movies and television shows, horses, birdwatching, and the natural world around her. Birds and squirrels quickly learned that Lory’s yard was a pretty good place to visit.

Animals, in general, had very little trouble finding their way into Lory’s heart or her home.

Over the years, the White household included beloved dogs Aggie, Gambit, Xena, Callie, and Jenny, along with an assortment of other creatures. There were even pet rats, including Squibbles and Squeaker, whom Pat was, naturally, absolutely thrilled to welcome into the family.

Lory also loved sports. She enjoyed playing softball and cycling herself and was an enthusiastic sports fan throughout her life. Growing up in Dallas meant that the Cowboys always held a special place in her heart. After moving to Houston, she became a devoted Houston Comets fan and remained a loyal supporter of women’s basketball long after the Comets were gone, most recently cheering on Caitlin Clark.

Home and family, though, remained the center of Lory’s world. She loved cooking dinners for the people she loved, and her family will particularly miss the personal touches she added to her recipes—the little things that made something unmistakably Mom’s.

Lory is survived by her husband of 51 years, Pat Murphy White; her son, David White and his fiancé, Shaun Landers; her daughter, Rebekah White Palaian and her husband, Aaron Palaian; her grandchildren, Cole Arthur Palaian and McKinley Joy Palaian; and her brother, Morgan Levy.

She was preceded in death by her father, Maurice Levy; her mother, Dorothy Levy; her stepmother, Margaret Levy; and her brother, Dory Levy.

And while her family knows heaven is far greater than anything we can imagine, we like to think Lory was greeted there by quite a welcoming committee—the wagging tails of Aggie, Gambit, Xena, and Callie, and perhaps even Squibbles and Squeaker making an appearance.

Jenny will remain here for now, keeping Pat company.

Lory’s family will miss her conversations, her kindness, her cooking, her handwriting, her enthusiasm, her quirks, her enormous heart for animals, and the way she could become completely fascinated by something and bring everyone else along for the ride.

Most of all, we will miss her.

A Celebration of Life honoring Lory will be held in November in the Dallas/Greenville, Texas area. Additional details will be shared with family and friends as arrangements are finalized.