JoAnne White Blair, age 89, of New York City, Winter Haven, Florida, and Shreveport, Louisiana, passed away peacefully at home April 9, 2022. Born Feb. 14, 1933, in Mingo Junction, Ohio, she was the daughter of Irene and James White.
She had a passion for acting and was a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York. After a brief stint on the stage, due to practical matters, she became an administrative assistant at several television stations in New York, for the Herald Tribune in Paris, and later for the poet John Ciardi at the Saturday Review in New York.
JoAnne was married for 40 years to “Banana” George Blair, an entrepreneur and the oldest barefoot water skier according to the Guinness Book of World Records. She was an expert at facilitating his wildly hectic world travel, performance and social schedule. They amassed a huge circle of friends and admirers around their homes in Paris, New York City, Winter Haven, Florida, and Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
She is survived by her brother, James B. White and his wife Shirley; her nephew Jimmy White and his children Robbie and Leah; stepdaughters, Donna Blair, Carrie Blair, Robin Blair, GeeGee Blair with Alan Lopez; and her step-grandchildren, Robert Blair, Marcus Turrisi, Theodore and Oliver Fetter; and step-great-grandchildren, Jessica, Eileen, Antonio, Nicholas, Emerson, Eliot, Nellie and Ruby.
A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, May 2 at Fair View Cemetery, Middletown, Section SSS. In her memory, in lieu of flowers, donate to your favorite museum, theater or arts group; and raise a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, remembering her kindness and generosity. Thompson Memorial Home of Red Bank has been entrusted with the arrangements.
The article originally appeared in the April 21 – 27, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
