Beth White

Marabeth "Beth" White, 78, died on September 24, 2026. She was born on October 6, 1947, in Anchorage, Alaska. She was born to Austin and Betty Joy. After graduating from West Anchorage High School, Beth moved to Colorado and earned a bachelor's degree in history from Colorado State University. She went on to work at CSU for more than 20 years.

Beth's lifelong love of dogs began in Alaska, where she sometimes carried the family Dachshunds home inside her jacket when the winter cold became too much for them. In Colorado, she raised and showed Dalmatians under the Melody Kennels name for more than 40 years. Dog shows took her across the United States and to Mexico City, and she also traveled to England and Finland to see major international shows.

Her dedication to dogs extended well beyond the show ring. Beth helped build Dalmatian Rescue of Colorado and formed connections with rescue volunteers across the country. Over the years, she helped dogs find homes through rescue work, home visits, training, advice, and transport. Dogs remained part of her everyday life long after she retired from active rescue.

Beth and her husband, Jack, spent 49 years at Rim Rock Ranch near Fort Collins, raising Dalmatians and Appaloosa racehorses. Beth helped with the horse breeding and also loved riding the trails of Northern Colorado. She stayed active and busy with projects around the ranch, where there were always dogs underfoot.

Knowing how much dogs had meant to Beth throughout her life, her daughter arranged for a golden retriever service dog to visit her in her final hours. That time together, just hours before she passed, was a fitting bookend to a lifetime with dogs by her side.

Beth was preceded in death by her parents, Austin and Betty Joy; her husband, John "Jack" White, DVM; her son, Jon "Garrett" White; and her sister Jen Beebe. She is survived by her daughter, Jess White; her grandchildren, Evan and Ivy; her brother, Jay Joy, his wife and family.