After graduating from high school in 1972, Sue White became a preschool teacher. She got her first job working at First Christian Church in Valparaiso. In 1976, she met her husband, Seth, at Valparaiso Nazarene Church. They had three daughters together. When her youngest daughter was in fifth grade, White began working as an aide at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School. She continues to work in the school system even today, though she’s retired, selling tickets at sporting events because she enjoys being around people.
During the ‘80s and into the ‘90s, Valparaiso Nazarene Church grew. Its members united to construct a building meant to be used for sports, church, receptions, and other events. The building became the place where White and her husband organized church leagues and she ran volleyball and basketball games. Working with her husband, who was the sports director until his death, White helped to involve the Valpo area’s church community, and their constant collaboration was the primary thing that brought her joy in that role. The two of them discovered great satisfaction in meeting anybody who wished to participate in their leagues.
“Getting to walk alongside my husband was my favorite part of my job. I usually did the background stuff, like scheduling and ordering uniforms. He was in charge of the leagues, but I did get to organize volleyball. We met a lot of new people, and that’s something he and I always loved,” she said.
White took over as sports director once her husband passed away about a decade ago. She might no longer be working in the role, but what she started with her husband still lasts presently. White and her husband’s purpose in getting competitions going, however, was never motivated by some drive to get people arguing, but rather by this genuine wish for all to learn and take away any of the many valuable lessons sports teach.
“Our philosophy had to do with finding ways for fun to thrive. We want people to learn. Everybody wants to win whatever it may be, but they also need to learn how to handle themselves when they lose. We care about people, so that’s why we did what we did,” she said.
In honor of the couple’s deep years-long commitment, last year Valparaiso Nazarene Church made the decision to rename its gym the Seth & Sue White Gymnasium. The spirit of White’s husband was very much alive in the church while he was living, and it continues to remain alive through his wife. She now works with a committee of women to plan out events for senior adults. Besides that, she’s still connected to her roots as a preschool teacher by assisting with the church’s preschool as an aide, and one of her daughters works as the preschool program’s director.
Constantly having been at her family’s side, White appreciates the support she’s been given by Valparaiso Nazarene Church. Enduring a loved one’s demise is challenging, but she didn’t have to do it alone. She’s always been where she needs to belong in this life, and showing up for service each Sunday has never changed, even on the hardest days.
“The church was immediately there after Seth died; it’s just been a big, big part of our life. They’re just a caring bunch of people, and the staff is awesome. Pastor Shawn was right by our side when I reached out to him about my ailing husband, and he did everything to help us out,” she said. “My husband died during the early hours of a Sunday morning, yet we made it to church that day. His passing was announced at the front, and then people asked me, ‘Why are you here?’ I told them, ‘Where else would we be?’”
White relishes all the time she often gets to spend with her only grandson, who will be in fourth grade beginning this fall. Her oldest daughter teaches at Wheeler High School, so she’ll occasionally help her with the tasks her job requires.
White has lived in Valparaiso her entire life. The city’s many attributes directly contribute to the feelings of contentment she’s developed about the place. It’s only expanding, also, and that reality excites her.
“Valpo was a small city, but it’s expanded. It’s safe and it’s close to Chicago. There’s really nothing that compares to it. Valparaiso is a veiled paradise, and so I know I’m going to live here my whole life—partly because, too, I like the change of seasons, and Florida and Arizona don’t really have that,” she said.