Allan White

After nearly 85 years of writing his legacy, Allan David White of North Manchester, IN, finished his final chapter on Friday, October 30, 2026, surrounded by his three children. Allan - scholar, teacher, philosopher, artist, historian, master of languages, father, grandfather, brother, friend – will always be remembered for his kindness, creativity, and deep love for his family.

Allan was born on November 2, 1941, in Auburn, IN, to Margaret Ann (Mullendore) White Nelson and David Ruben White. He graduated from Columbia City Joint High School in 1960. In 1964, Allan earned his BA in Education with majors in French and Spanish and a minor in history from Ball State University. In 1969, he earned a Master’s in French from Purdue University and began his teaching career at Middlebury High School, and then moved to North Manchester, IN, where he taught French for several years, impacting his students with his artistic renditions of the chapters and his animated teaching style.

After the French program was suspended, Allan moved his young family to Muncie, IN, where he pursued a BA in art 1977, the degree he would use for rest of his life as a graphic artist, first as a typesetter at Jim Leuck’s Print Shoppe and then as an art director for a company in Columbia City, IN. More importantly, however, Allan used his art to bring joy to those around him. With Patricia Helman, the first lady of Manchester College, Allan formed the business Joyful Scribes, a unique greeting card company that integrated calligraphy and tapestry ribbon that brought delight for both the giver and the receiver.

In his play Our Town, Thorton Wilder observed, “Does anybody realize what life is while they’re living it—every, every minute?” One might say that Allan White did, nurturing curiosity in his children and grandchildren, recording the architectural and community history of his beloved towns of North Manchester and Columbia City, observing the changing seasons on his daily bike rides, and filling over 25 volumes of blank sketch books with his pencil and ink drawings, capturing the beauty of the life unfolding before him.

A lifelong historian and scholar as well as a voracious reader, Allan was a gifted individual, speaking multiple languages, teaching himself to play the piano as an adult, and possessing an acute awareness of details, forever a researcher at heart. He was never without a notebook and mechanical pencil. Instead of taking photos with a smart phone, he sketched, often recording parts of life the rest of us forget to observe – the corbel bracket on a porch, the brick pattern of a building, or the gentle play of light on Autumn leaves.

Allan cherished legacy and recorded the history of everyday individuals, the ones who don’t make it onto the pages of a history book, the community built in small towns. Never one for fanfare, Allan worked behind the scenes, investigating his own genealogy or that of friends, researching the history of homes, capturing the stories before they disappear, even publishing a book in 1978 on the Nineteenth Century Homes of Columbia City. He also volunteered at the Center for History in North Manchester, sang in the Manchester United Methodist Church choir, and spent hundreds of hours creating a database of every News Journal issue, carefully reading each on a microfiche machine in the North Manchester Public Library. Allan lived his life as a faithful community member.

Besides his family, the most visible impact of Allan’s legacy is in his art, especially his ink line drawings of historical homes. The sharp, meticulous lines broken occasionally by a soft stroke speak volumes of the way Allan lived his own life, the perfect balance of strength and softness. Most likely, many have walked by or held his work in their hands and never realized the human who carefully considered their experience through his creations: logos for North Manchester businesses, signage and brochures for the Historical Society’s annual house tour, signage for Fun Fest and other community events, displays for the library, and in so many other ways.

Allan White is survived by his children Heather Schilling of North Manchester, Laurel Yahi of Fort Wayne, Jeremy (Jenni) White of Muncie, IN; and four grandchildren Lucas (Ali) Schilling of Indianapolis, Zack Yahi of Indianapolis, Che White of Muncie, and Celia Yahi of Fort Wayne as well as an expected great-grandchild. He is also survived by his siblings Dennis White, Brad Nelson, and Barry Nelson all of Columbia City, IN.

Allan was preceded in death by his granddaughter Elizabeth Anne Schilling and son-in-law Gianni (Laurel) Yahi as well as his sister Ann Lemmon.

All are welcome to visit family and enjoy Allan’s artwork on Saturday, November 14, 2026, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. at the United Methodist Church, 306 E. Second Street, North Manchester, Indiana. Funeral services will begin at the conclusion of calling and will be officiated by Andrea Lantz and Karen Eberly.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Elizabeth Schilling Adjust Your Sails Foundation fund or the Community Foundation, both at 220 East Main Street, North Manchester, Indiana 46962.

The family of Allan White has entrusted McKee Mortuary with care and final arrangements.