Mrs. Ellanor Peiser White Obituary

Ellanor Kenney Peiser White, 75, of Michael, Illinois, died Thursday, October 13, 2011 at her daughter's home in Springfield, after a long illness.

Ellanor, the daughter of Mark and Leanore Peiser, was born February 15, 1936 in Chicago. She was preceded in death by her husband, John K. White. She is survived by brother, Mark Peiser; niece, Martha, of North Carolina; four children, Karli, Mark, Jonah, and Watie; and nine grandchildren.

Ellanor earned a bachelor's degree in Religion at Swarthmore College and two master's degrees from Sangamon State University, one in Museum Studies and another in Not-for-Profit Management. She was an accomplished weaver with weavings exhibited in museums. She researched ethnographic and archaeological textiles from numerous museum collections and studied with traditional Native American weavers. Her master's thesis was an analysis of prehistoric Native American textiles from the Hopewell time period. In 1986, Ellanor and John founded Ancient Lifeways Institute, a field school, held in a reconstructed village setting, where they emphasized hands-on learning of traditional technologies.

For many years, Ellanor was active in a Springfield writers' group where she continued her interests in history, religion, and comparative mythologies. She and John loved to travel and delighted in welcoming frequent visitors. They kept a flock of sheep from which she spun wool and they gave a home to many rescued animals.

Cremation was accorded by Lincoln Land Cremation Society.

Memorial Gathering: 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 29, 2011 at the First Presbyterian Church Hall, 302 Vineyard St., Hardin, Illinois.

Anyone wanting to make a donation in Ellanor's name is encouraged to do so to the National Parkinson Foundation, the American Cancer Society, or the Alzheimer's Association.

The family will be adding additional photographs to the tribute page - please return to see more images from Mom's life.

LINKS:
Link to images of Dad's funeral ceremony (click on the one image to see others):
http://tamaroa.wordpress.com/

An old website describing Mom and Dad's work at Ancient Lifeways Institute:
http://www.ob1.com/iae/Supporters/Ancient/Lifeways.htm