Marge Thrasher Borg White

Born Margie LuRae Borg, February 26, 1934, Marge Thrasher White died after a long illness on August 17th, 2012. There will be a funeral to celebrate her life at Kingsway Christian Church on Friday, August 24 at 10:30 AM followed by a private burial. The family will receive friends Thursday evening from 5:00-7:00 PM at Kingsway and at 9:30 AM Friday before the service.

Marge was preceded in death by her parents, Adrianna and Russell Borg of Lohrville, IA. She is survived by her husband of 32 years, Dr. Charles E. White and her sister, Barbara (Earl) Davis of Lohrville, IA. She leaves a large family, including her sons Houston (Ann-Marie) Thrasher of McLean, VA and Barton Thrasher (Cristy) of LaGrange, TN. Her daughters, Melissa (Michael) Peeler of Memphis, TN and Julie (James) Isaacs of Richmond, VA. Her three stepchildren, Heather Krupp of Atlanta, GA, David (Melba) White of South Fulton, TN and Knox (Laurel) White of Los Angeles, CA. Marge, affectionately known as “Mimi”, adored her thirteen grandchildren: Eli and Ben Thrasher; Adi, Bo and Sarah Thrasher; Mary, Anna, and Margie Peeler; Kathryn and Alex Krupp; Megan and Rachel White and Sawyer White. They were a great source of joy and pride for Marge and she will be immeasurably missed by all of them. Growing up in rural Iowa, Marge excelled in both academics and athletics. She attended Iowa State, where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority, and Iowa Wesleyan, where she was a leading scorer on the basketball team. She continued a love of the game throughout her life. Marge was also an avid tennis and Bridge player, who especially cherished the deep friendships forged with her playing groups. Born into a musical family, Marge began her lifetime love of music as a two-year old singing on KRNT in Des Moines and then performing for War Bond rallies during WWII. She regularly sang duets at church with her mother and choral groups including the Sweet Adelines in Memphis.

Known best for her decades long radio and television career in Memphis, Marge was host of such shows as WHER’s Open Mike, WWEE Radio’s afternoon talk radio show and WHBQ’s Straight Talk with Marge Thrasher and AM Memphis as well as being their noon news anchor. She especially enjoyed her interviews with such notables as Elvis Presley, Julia Child, Dolly Parton, Nancy Reagan, and Billy Graham. Marge volunteered for numerous charitable events and co-chaired the Memphis Symphony Ball that brought Tony Bennett to Memphis in 1987. She regularly delivered motivational speeches to regional and national organizations as well as consulted to business and medical professionals on media relations. After retiring from television, Marge enjoyed a long and successful second career in real estate and was a life member of the Memphis Area Association of Realtors’ Multiple Million Dollar Club.A member of Kingsway Christian Church since the 1960’s, Marge was active in the Christian Women’s Fellowship and Discipleship Sunday School Class. She was proud to support the fundraising efforts to move the Schaeffer Memorial Chapel to the Church’s current location. A founding member and past President of the Mid South Chapter of the American Women of Radio and Television, Marge joined an international delegation to present Princess Margaret with a lifetime achievement award in London. She was a former member of The University Club, the Mystic Society of Memphi and the Memphis Area Transit Authority Board. Charlie and the family would like to especially acknowledge the superior caregiving and friendship of Jean Holman, Cathy Fason, and Mark Finney. The family requests that you consider making a memorial gift to Kingsway Christian Church or to an organization of your choice in lieu of flowers. The family also hopes to establish a broadcast journalism scholarship at the University of Memphis in her honor. Memorial gifts for that scholarship should be sent to The University of Memphis Foundation for the Marge Thrasher White fund.