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Born in Chicago, IL to Philip Wheeler Kniskern and Karine Nessen Kniskern, Tookie grew up in Bronxville, NY and Swarthmore, PA. She graduated from Sweet Briar College with a sociology degree and, as she liked to say, a "minor" in athletics. She earned the school's highest athletic award for her participation in hockey, basketball and lacrosse. While in college she visited Hawaii with her family and thought it would be wonderful to someday marry a man from Hawaii and spend her life in the Islands. That dream came true after she joined the US Coast Guard Reserve in 1943 and was a member of a rare women's group trained at the US Coast Guard Academy. After being commissioned to the Women's Reserve (SPARS), Ensign Kniskern was assigned to the Coast Guard District Office in Seattle where her cousin, home-ported in Tacoma on the USS Casablanca, introduced her to his roommate, Robert E. "Bob" White, Jr., a Navy lieutenant and fourth-generation kama'aina from Honolulu. Tookie and Bob were engaged after just six dates, and on Nov. 11, 1944, they embarked on a loving and adventurous life together in Hawaii that would span nearly 64 years of marriage until Bob's passing in 2008.They enjoyed their growing family and a wide circle of friends, and they traveled the world together, including trips to Antarctica, Asia, Europe and many US destinations. They cruised through the Galapagos Islands and down the Amazon River; visited Machu Picchu; hiked in New Zealand, Switzerland and England; and took annual golf "safaris" to neighbor islands with a close group of friends. Their love of travel was shared with their children and grandchildren who were eager participants in large family trips to Kauai and Kenya, and a 60th anniversary cruise on the Danube.
At the age of 45, when her youngest child was in middle school, Tookie fulfilled another dream, earning a master's degree in social work from the University of Hawaii so she could professionally advocate for Hawaii's youth. Upon graduating, she began a 20-year career with Family Court as a probation officer and eventually a court administrator. She earned a reputation for taking on the most challenging cases and getting through to those kids with compassion and unselfish dedication.
A perennial and passionate community volunteer and advocate for challenged youth, Tookie served as a board member, advisor or volunteer for such organizations as Goodwill Industries, Junior League, Aloha United Way, State Commission on Children and Youth, Habilitat, Family Peace Center, Children's Justice Center, Hawaii Community Foundation and Kukui Children's Foundation.
In 2001, Tookie and Bob established Ho'omaka Hou - A New Beginning Fund at Hawaii Community Foundation to provide scholarships to students who had overcome great adversity, including a history of substance abuse. Tookie always believed in the goodness of young people, even those who others had given up on.
In addition to her husband, Bob, she was predeceased by her son Philip K. White (Frances Brown) and her only sibling, Philip N. Kniskern. She is survived by sons Robert E. "Terry" White III (Elizabeth), Michael B. White (Whitney), Mary "Mele" White Pochereva (Thomas), 13 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, April 1, 2023,
2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., Punahou School, Thurston Memorial Chapel.
Contributions in memory of Karen White are welcome by
Habilitat (www.habilitat.com/karenwhite) and Ho'omaka Hou -
A New Beginning Fund (www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/give).
Arrangements Provided By: Oahu Mortuary
