Teacher Ann-Marie White, 43; Honored by Peers Last Month

Ann-Marie White, who taught handicapped preschoolers at Lord Baden Powell Elementary School for 20 years, died Wednesday at home.

The mother of two boys, White, 43, had struggled with cancer and brain tumors for two years.

Last month, colleagues from the Magnolia School District had helped the Whites celebrate the last Christmas she would have with her husband, Tom, and children Michael, 9 and Benjamin, 3. Teachers, board members and nurses had gathered to sing carols to White and earlier had given her a plaque in honor of her years of working with severely handicapped children.

“No one is ever expendable, but there will never be another Ann-Marie White,” said Gregg Smith, principal of Baden Powell Elementary in Anaheim.

White received a master’s degree in education from USC, where she also completed her undergraduate work. She had developed a thesis for her master’s that sign language can help physically handicapped children progress more quickly in verbal and physical skills.

White’s neighbors, colleagues and in-laws went to great lengths to make her last days as happy as possible, said Karen Riggs, White’s sister-in-law.

“We planned for it and we knew it was coming and our ultimate goal was to make it good for her, and I think we really did,” Riggs said. “The boys learned a lot of lessons from her, and one of the most important was how to die with dignity and grace.”

White is survived by her husband, a manager at Rockwell International Corp., her sons, her parents, Alfred and Donna Osterhues of Lake Forest, and a brother, Paul Osterhues of Valencia.

Friends and family will attend a Mass at 10 a.m. today at Holy Family Cathedral, 566 S. Glassell St., Orange. Burial services will follow at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery, 7845 Santiago Canyon Road, Orange.