Jonna White, age 77, died Sept. 24, at her home on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Jonna White was born July 11, 1947, in Atlanta, Ga., to Margaret and John White. She was the youngest of three children. Jonna White began her art career in 1968 in Raleigh, NC. She moved to St. Thomas in 1978 where she created and successfully sold her art for 46 years.
She opened her “Jonna White” waterfront gallery in 1997 in conjunction with a second art gallery at the Ritz Carlton. In January of 1999, she opened her largest art gallery with a 2000 square foot studio on Main Street, where she remained for 11 years, enjoying enormous success. The children and grandchildren of her art fans are still coming to St. Thomas today to buy her art, many from cruise ships bringing people from all over the word.
She enjoyed a long career on St. Thomas capturing the beauty of the island in her large, deeply embossed color etchings and rich encaustic pairings of exotic tropical places and ancient times in her island studio. She sold many limited-edition prints done in a centuries-old medium known as intaglio, an art form that uses etched metal plates and several colors of ink. Her artwork was truly one of a kind and special.
She was predeceased by her beloved sister, Jaclyn Smith.
She is survived by her loving husband, Eddie Gonzalez; her only child, David L. Ferguson of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; one daughter-in-law, Catherine Ferguson; and three grandchildren: David L. Ferguson Jr., Jarod Crush and Sean M. Ferguson.
A public memorial service will be held at Turnbull’s Funeral Home, St. Thomas USVI from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., Friday, Oct. 4.
