Stella Corcoran was born in 1893 in Kosciusko, Mississippi. She moved to Beaumont, Texas, with her parents as a young girl. Stella Attended Beaumont High School, South Park Junior College, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Mergenthaler Linotype School.

She married Carl White in 1917 and both worked for the newspaper, "Port Arthur Record."

Their only child, Dr. Carl Michael White, born in 1918, died in 1982, leaving no descendants. Stella died in Port Arthur in 1985, predeceased by her husband.

In her will, she left her home, "White Haven" and all its furnishings to Captain William Sanders Chapter, NSDAR. 

Mrs. White also provided a very generous endowment fund, presently valued near one-half million dollars, for higher education scholarships. Trusteeship of these funds was given to the Port Arthur Higher Education Foundation by the chapter in 2001. This foundation selects the recipients of the scholarships through Lamar State College. Each year, approximately twenty high school graduates  will  each receive  $1000 scholarships from Capt. William Sanders Chapter.