Ann White

Born Elizabeth Ann Swarthout in Tyler, Texas in December, 1950, Elizabeth Ann White passed away in Banner Wyoming Medical Center in Casper Wyoming on August 24 2025.

Ann spent her early years in Texas with her parents and brother on her grandfather’s farm riding horses and helping with haying and other farm chores. Her family moved numerous times, finally settling in Sheridan, WY, where Ann attended and graduated from Sheridan High School (SHS) in 1969. Ann subsequently enrolled at the University in Wyoming where she pursued her degree in Journalism.

Ann was a tall, strikingly intelligent woman with a beautiful spirit. She was a gifted pianist with a love of all music, plus she was a gifted artist and an avid reader of innumerable books. She was a very attractive lady, and in 1970 she entered and was crowned Miss Wyoming in the 1970 Miss USA competition in Jackson, WY, and she subsequently competed in the national 1970 Miss USA competition in Miami, FL, performing flawlessly on the piano, which was her designated performance talent. Whereas she represented the State of Wyoming extremely well with her presentations and performances in all facets of the competition, she did not make it into the finals of the competition. However, her roommate won the 1970 Miss USA competition, and they became lifelong friends.

Ann subsequently returned to the University of Wyoming and continued her studies in journalism. She subsequently met her future husband Jack White who at the time had graduated from NCHS in Casper, WY in 1964 and had recently returned from Vietnam following an honorable discharge from the US Marine Corp, where he encountered and survived heavy battle action. Jack was enrolled at the University of Wyoming and had obtained his BA degree when he met Ann, and he was working on his Master’s degree. They remained together, and after graduation they moved back to Casper, WY and subsequently to Sheridan, WY where they married.

Jack’s career with Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway as a rail worker, labor leader, and subsequent operations officer required frequent transfers, ... moving on short notice to locations in Montana, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and Wyoming. Through all these moves and during multiple periods when Jack’s job required that he be away from home on the railways for many days, Ann skillfully coordinated each move and maintained stable life for the family.

Ann was an observer and lover of Nature. She would sit and watch storms and sunsets whether on the coasts of Oregon and Washington, in the deserts of Arizona, or in the vast expanses of the Rocky Mountains. Consistent with her upbringing on the farm, she loved all creatures, ... large and small. She loved the big gnarly cottonwood trees and the animals and birds that made them their home. Most of all, she enjoyed walking through Nature settings with her two Corgis leading the way.

In the last 4 decades of her life, Ann was beset with chronic illnesses that increasingly limited her activities and capabilities. In her later years ... and especially after Jack’s retirement from the railroad ..., she was blessed to have continuous loving support from Jack, who always regarded Ann as his “Number One” devotion and responsibility. After Jack’s retirement, they moved back to Casper part-time and split time between living in Poulsbo, Washington and Tucson, AZ. Ann, Jack, and the two dogs would take daily walks together and enjoy one another and their love of Nature. Ann became acutely ill in early August and was hospitalized on August 11 and never recovered from her overwhelming illness. Ann passed away early in the morning on August 24, 2025 with Jack, her marriage partner for 46 years, at her side ... and with classical music that she loved playing in her ears.

Ann was preceded in death by her mother, father, and brother. She is survived by her loving husband Jack. Jack is unaware of any surviving relatives from her side of the family. At Ann’s request, no services will be held.

• She departed like tears in the rain.
• Beautiful spirit and beautiful smile gone.
• Those who knew her will miss her
• and her sincere love of our earthly environment
• and her devotion to save all living creatures
• .... one step at a time,
• Always with her Corgis at her side.

• “Death leaves a heartache no one can heal.
• Love leaves a memory no one can steal” – Irish Proverb