Jocelyn White, who passed away in Dallas, Texas, on April 18, 2021, was a groundbreaking TV and radio personality who made her mark as the first weather woman to appear on nighttime news broadcasts in Little Rock and then Dallas-Fort Worth. She also was one of only five women in the country to achieve the Seal of Approval from the American Meteorological Society.
Born to Burl Joe White, Jr. and Joyce (Briggs) White in Crossett, Arkansas on March 9, 1953, Jocelyn graduated from Crossett High School in 1971. She was Honor Graduate, winner of the prestigious Georgia-Pacific Scholarship, winner of National Teachers of English "Creative Writing" Award and voted "Most Likely to Succeed."
In 1975, she graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and English from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. There, she created and edited the school’s yearbook and magazine. She began her broadcasting career at KTHV-TV in Little Rock. She covered state politics and became the station’s first nighttime news weather woman. From 1977 to 1980, she was at KARK-TV in Little Rock, where she was a feature reporter and weekend weather anchor.
In 1980, Jocelyn moved to Dallas to work at KDFW Channel 4. She was Dallas's first AMS-credentialed weather woman. At Channel 4, she was also arts and entertainment editor and movie and theater critic. She produced numerous series for "sweeps" months and hosted such shows as "Texas Steppin' Out" and "Jocelyn's Weekend," which won the prestigious Dallas Press Club Katie Award.
In 1991, Jocelyn struck out on her own with Jocelyn White Productions/Skinny Jo Enterprises, creating such televisions shows as "Saturday Night with Jocelyn White," "Texas Country Nights," "D Magazine on TV," "Hot On! Homes," "Designing Texas," and "Designing America" (which aired nationally for eight years on Mark Cuban's HDNet). She won Katie, Emmy, Matrix, TELLY, and numerous other awards and accolades. She wrote articles for the Dallas Times Herald, D Magazine, and the Dallas Morning News. She wrote chapters for the books "Texas Men" and "Texas Women". She ghostwrote speeches and presentations for numerous corporate execs and politicians. And she did interviews for the "E" Network.
If that wasn’t enough, Jocelyn had a celebrated radio career. She was the news anchor during the historic Ron Chapman Morning Show on KVIL, and she was the host of a weekly morning show on KVIL called Sunday Morning with Jocelyn White. She was Kidd Kraddick's original sidekick at KISS-FM. (During her tenure, the Kidd Kraddick show went "from Worst to First" in Dallas-Fort Worth radio ratings). She hosted a daily health talk show on KGBS, and she co-hosted “Booray and Jocelyn in the Morning” for the ABC Radio Network. She did news for the Terry Dorsey Morning Show on KPLX and for the "Robbins, Kenny and Cowan" show (and later the” Moby in the Morning” show) on Eagle 97.
But what gave Jocelyn the most pleasure was her volunteer work for several non-profit charities. She served as chairman of the board of directors for Equest and the SPCA of Texas. She was on the board of directors of the Dallas Arboretum. She chaired the SPCA’s Texas Fur Ball, the Equest Gala, and the Mad Hatter’s Tea for the Women's Council of the Dallas Arboretum. She also worked with Fort Worth's National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.
Interested in all things regarding pets and animals, Jocelyn loved her three rescued Pugs, a rescued Chihuahua, and her horse named Fabio, who was recently retired from Equest. It was the tales of animal rescues that led Jocelyn to create her pet TV show.
Jocelyn is survived by her husband, Claude E. "Kim" Seal, II. She is also survived by her mother, Joyce White of Homer, Louisiana; her brother Joey White and wife, Erin, of Homer, Louisiana; her nephew Weston Hayes White of Homer; Kim's son Brad Seal of Dallas, Texas; goddaughter, Jacque Kennedy Jacobs, goddaughter and namesake, Jocelyn Blair Kennedy; longtime special friend, Terri A. Kennedy; and a host of friends who she dearly loved.
At the end of the day, Jocelyn admited to one motto "Never Boring; Never Bored" and one mission statement "Think PAWSitive!".
A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 30, 2021 at The Century Ballroom at The Adolphus Hotel, 1321 Commerce Street, Dallas, Texas 75202. The service will be live streamed at the following link: https://celebrationoflife.tv/blog/jocelyn-white
Memorials may be made to:
Equest; PO Box 171779, Dallas, TX 75217
SPCA of Texas; spca@spca.org
Women’s Council of the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden; 25 Highland Park Village, Suite 100 #219, Dallas, Texas 75205