Joanne Lyles White

Lillian Joanne Lyles White (September 12, 1929 – March 9, 2011), known as Joanne White, was an American philanthropist, teacher, humanitarian, and social entrepreneur from Alexandria in Rapides Parish, who founded and co-founded several non-profit organizations and service agencies in Central Louisiana, including Angel Care, the Hope House, the Shepherd Center, Rapides Parish Habitat for Humanity, the Central Louisiana Food Bank, Care and Share, and Christmas Cheer for Children.

Early years White was born in Cheneyville in Rapides Parish, the eighth of twelve children born to Samuel Pickles Lyles and the former Marie Myrtle Guy. She graduated from Lecompte High School in nearby Lecompte. Mrs. White's eldest sister, Sue Eakin, was a well-known Louisiana historian, and her grandson, Lamar White, is an investigative journalist and disability rights advocate.

In 1950, White graduated from LSU with a Bachelors in Science in Speech and Social Studies. While at LSU, White was a founding member of the Delta Gamma sorority.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, White worked with the Louisiana Governors Office to investigate discrepancies between the treatment of incarcerated women and juveniles. When she was in her late 70s, White was chair of the Rapides Parish Workforce Investment Board.

White was the recipient of the Habitat for Humanity's Founders Award, the National Association of Social Worker's Public Citizen of the Year Award, the Lions Club's Outstanding Citizen Award, the Louisiana Methodist Church's Children and Families Service Award, the Young Women's Christian Association's Outstanding Community Leader Award, the Zeta Phi Beta's Outstanding Community Leadership Award, the Central Louisiana Professional Women's Network's Visionary Award, and Cenla Focus's Cenla-ian of the Year.

Death White died at the age of eighty-one at her home in Alexandria.