Alita White Sutcliffe

Mrs. Sutcliffe, 77, passed away Tuesday, November 18, 2014 at Novant Presbyterian Hospital, Charlotte. She was born December 23, 1936 in Burlington, N.C., the daughter of the late Robert Dixon White and Alice Barr White.

Alita graduated from high school in Burlington in 1955 and received her Bachelor's Degree from Queens College in Charlotte, where she had double-majored in psychology and sociology. She was a retired social worker, having worked with adoptions and troubled teens. Alita was a member of the Mecklenburg Genealogical Society and the Marion Genealogical Society.

Mrs. Sutcliffe was a homemaker, genealogist and publisher of genealogical books. Besides genealogy, her hobbies included tennis, boating, and being part of the pit crew for her husband George's racing team. Alita loved to visit relatives and had a special connection to Montreat, North Carolina. Alita was a kind and generous spirit who every Tuesday and Wednesday opened her home and heart to friends to offer support and advice and the sharing of ideas. Genealogical research provided the reason to indulge in her passion for travel to such places as England, Scotland, Germany, Spain and Italy.

Mrs. Sutcliffe is survived by her husband of 53 years, George Helme Sutcliffe; cousins, Maxcy Foxworth of Marion, S.C. and Wyndham Wilkinson of Winston-Salem, N.C.; as well as her extended family, and numerous friends who loved her dearly.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her father-in-law, Geoffrey Helme Sutcliffe and mother-in-law, Martha Wilkinson Sutcliffe.

A funeral service will be held at 12 o'clock on Friday, November 21, in the Chapel of Harry & Bryant, 500 Providence Road, Charlotte. The family will receive friends from 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. prior to the service at the funeral home. Interment will be in Florence, S.C. in the Historic Hopewell Presbyterian Church Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to a charity of the donor's choice.