Ms. Lois Ryne’e’ White, 47, of Melfa, passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at her home, after a long and courageous battle against cancer.
Growing up, Lois was an adorable little girl — cuter than a pup under a cabbage leaf. LoLo loved to teach school to her dollies, her sisters, or anyone else who would sit still in her class. Lois was a magnet for friends from an early age. She could make a stranger feel like her best friend in under 30 minutes. She really found her flow when she became a teenager. Silver bracelets shining up her arm, Charlotte Hornets Starter jacket, sweatshirt, jeans, and bangs close to heaven were her go-to uniform.
Wherever she went, she was the most loved. She bonded with her Girl Tribe in her late teens and early 20s, and those friendships remained steadfast, loyal, and impervious to outsiders until the end of her life. Her 20s were spent working at the Exmore Diner during the week and hanging with friends at LJ’s during the weekends with a lemon drop in one hand and a screwdriver in the other.
Lois found her true calling in 1997, when she became a mother for the first time. A few years later, she did it again, and her little family was complete.
With the advice of some more dear friends, Lois became an anesthesia tech at Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital. It was a career that suited her to a T. Lois was always taking care of others, whether she was cooking peas and dumplings for her hungover friends or being there to support a friend who just lost her mother, she would drive 200 miles if it meant spending 10 minutes with someone she loved. She was loyal and she was fun.
She would without a doubt give up every penny she had to make sure Breonna and Mason had the lives she knew they deserved. Breonna was her little sunflower and Mason was her little anchor. They were her very reason for living, and once she became a grandmother her love was amplified to infinity. Lois and her “Briggy Wiggies” were not only twinsies, they were best friends. She loved him more than she loved herself, and he felt the same way.
When Lois found out she was sick, the community rallied and made sure she could spend her last year in peace and comfort. Her family gathered around her, and Raydean would cook for her, Bill would cut her sandwiches in little triangles, and her babies stopped everything just so they could spend every second soaking up their mama. Her legacy lives on through her kids, and she will never stop being missed.
Lois is survived by the joys of her life, her children, Breonna Ryne’e’ White (Tyler Joynes), Mason Noah White (Marlena Dzurko), and Kayla Cavaliero (Logan Cavaliero), all of Melfa; her father, Bill White, of Madison Heights; her mother, Raydean Barnes, of Melfa; her sisters, Bettie Jean Pickett (Paul Pickett), of Chesapeake, and Whitney Ann Lipscomb, of Florida; her brother, Billie Gene White Jr., of Lynchburg; her grandchildren, Briggs Joynes and Ocean Cavaliero, both of Melfa; several nieces and nephews; her very special niece, Nola Pickett, of Chesapeake; her Girl Tribe; and her extended family and friends.
The family would like to thank the community, doctors, nurses, and dear friends, Stephanie Mancuso and Crystal Hart, who went above and beyond to make sure Lois was able to spend her final days in comfort and peace. Fly high, Lois. May you walk through a field of sunflowers with a lemon drop in your hand and that beautiful smile lighting up your face.
A celebration of life service will be conducted from the Herbert Powell Memorial Park in Wachapreague on Saturday, May 30, at 1 p.m., with Pastor Rob Kelly officiating. Interment will follow at the Wachapreague Cemetery. There will be a visitation the evening of Friday, May 29, from 5 to 7 p.m., in the chapel of the Williams-Onancock Funeral Home.
Donations may be made in Lois’ memory to the Wachapreague Volunteer Fire Company, P.O. Box 390, Wachapreague, VA 23480.
If you really want to honor Lois’ memory, take a trip with your best friends, spend time with your kids telling them silly stories, and make time for the people that matter the most in your life.
Memory tributes may be shared at www.williamsfuneralhomes.com
Arrangements are by the Williams-Onancock Funeral Home.
