Victoria A. White: 1956-2007
March 3, 2007
NORTHAMPTON - Victoria Alger White died peacefully at home in the early hours of March 2, of metastatic breast cancer, in the company of her partner in marriage Deborah Lohmeyer, her beloved dogs Cisco, Barkley, and Dottie, and supported by numerous friends, co-workers, and family. She maintained her graciousness and sense of humor, her interest in friends and their dogs, and her zest for life throughout her 51 years, including the diagnosis and treatment of her cancer in late 2002, her recovery, and, finally, the recurrence and spread of the disease. Her life motto has been 'one paw in front of the other,' a motto she exemplified in how she lived.
Victoria was born March 6, 1956 to Julie Alger and John White in San Jose, Calif., and lived in California until she and her mother moved to western Massachusetts when her parents divorced. She attended local schools until she left to work at various jobs to help support her family. She obtained her GED, entered Springfield Technical Community College, and was awarded an associates degree in 1980. Her initial interest was in fine arts, but she chose to major in chemistry when she transferred to the University of Massachusetts. Her professors at both STCC and UMass told her that chemistry was not a field for a woman, but Victoria followed her academic interests and graduated with a BS degree in chemistry in 1985.
After graduation, Victoria was employed as laboratory manager at the university and she then taught chemistry at Cornell University for a year. She returned to the University of Massachusetts and served as technical manager in the Department of Polymer Science and Engineering for seven years. In the early 1990s, she made a dramatic decision to cut her academic ties and became an Internet consultant, founding her own company, the Internet Connection, which is now known as eclecTechs, a well-established computer firm in Northampton. At that same time, she earned an MBA in computer ethics at UMass. As the business grew, Victoria published several papers and gave many talks to professional and civic organizations. She was particularly interested in ethical and social issues related to expanding access to and use of the Internet. For example, in 1994 she gave a talk at the Brookings Institute Annual Conference on Computer Ethics titled 'Social Ramifications of the 'Information Highway.'
As her business flourished, Victoria became known as a prominent businesswoman in Northampton. She was active in a number of area civic organizations and contributed many pro bono services. She was a member of the Springfield and Northampton Chambers of Commerce and a member of the Board of the Northampton Chamber of Commerce and chair of its Education Committee. She was particularly dedicated to the technical education and business development of women.
Victoria received the Distinguished Alumni Award to recognize outstanding achievement by a graduate of STCC in 1998.
In 2005, Victoria realized a lifelong dream of starting a dog day care business, and with the assistance of her partner, Deb, and many friends, she oversaw the renovation of the back of the eclecTechs building and opened DogHampton, a 'dog day care, dog entertainment, and dog transportation' service. DogHampton's symbols have become the DogHampton paw print van, which is seen around town transporting dogs to various appointments, visits, and field trips; Cisco, DogHampton SpokesDog; and pink tennis balls with DogHampton contact information that populate fields, dog walks, and beaches where dogs have left them behind to be found by other delighted dogs and dogwalkers.
Victoria has always been accompanied by dogs (and occasional cats) from the first dog of her childhood, a collie Peggy, to 'a little black dog' Betty, who died in 2004, to the surviving dogs Barkley P. White (15), Dottie G. Lohmeyer (7), and Cisco L. White (2), the SpokesDog for eclecTechs as well as DogHampton.
Victoria and Deb were married Sept. 23, 2006, on the beach in Provincetown, where they and their dogs first met. The rings were handmade and engraved with symbols of tennis balls, a dog, a heart, and water. Barkley was the ring bearer and Dottie and Cisco were the best dogs.
In addition to her beloved marriage partner, Deborah Lohmeyer, Victoria's surviving relatives are her father, John White (at home), a teacher, pianist and photographer; cousins Marjorie Alger Chord, Jordanna Chord, Levi Chord, and Jared Chord; an aunt Dorothy M. White, and cousins Dean White and Alan White, and an uncle, Capt. David Alger, USCG (ret).
Victoria's mother, Julie Alger, a poet, died in 1994, was also a metastatic breast cancer warrior.
In a profile in the Women of Distinction supplement of the Daily Hampshire Gazette (2005), Victoria said that her greatest extravagance was to 'plan special events for people I care about and create unique experiences for them.' Victoria was a treasured friend to a wide variety of humans and dogs, an imaginative and astute businesswoman, and an adventurous spirit who faced the joys and challenges of her life with grace, humor, and positive thinking. She liked mottoes; the words she chose to live by varied, but the meanings were the same. Two of special note from her last few years are:
'It's not what we experience but how we perceive it.'
'We cannot direct the winds but we can adjust our sails.'
Donations in Victoria's name may be made to the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society, 163 Montague Road, Leverett, MA 01054, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or to the charity of your choice.
A memorial service and celebration of Victoria's life will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, March 10, at Grace Episcopal Church, Amherst.
Originally published in the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
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