The Dr. Kathryn Lee White Luncheon is an annual luncheon presented immediately after the Turpin Memorial Day exercises and lecture. The Luncheon celebrates the life, achievements and contributions of Kathryn Lee White, DDS, especially to the Omicron Omicron Chapter of OKU to which Dr. White was a loyal and active member. The Luncheon is sponsored by Omicron Omicron Chapter.
Not only was she a beloved teacher, but Dr. Kathryn Lee White is remembered for her many achievements as she employed her creative abilities in fashion and design. Dr. White was responsible for the design and construction of the original Omicron Omicron Chapter Banner (see picture below). The dental students gave her the highest praise when they dedicated the Meharrian, the Meharry yearbook, to her on two occasions, in 1963 and 1968. Her constant admonition to students was, "Keep your eyes on the donut not the hole."

Dr. White was born the fifth of eight children of a pioneer Nashville family. She graduated from Pearl High School and from Fisk University with a B.A. degree in 1937. She earned the D.D.S. degree from Meharry Medical College in 1943, and she then completed a two-year postgraduate study at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. Her internship was served at the Guggenheim Children's Dental Clinic in New York City. Dr. White was employed in the New York City Department of Public Health. She also practiced in San Diego and Los Angeles, California before returning to Meharry.

In the School of Dentistry, she was appointed the faculty's first full-time female African-American in 1947. Dr. White was named Director of the Pedodontic/Pediatrics Clinic and Director of the Division of Dental Hygiene, positions she held for more than ten years. Dr. White retired from the Department of Operative Dentistry in 1973, after a massive heart attack.

Her professional memberships included Omicron Kappa Upsilon Honor Dental Society, National Dental Association, American Dental Association, Tennessee Dental Association, and Capital City Dental Society. She also belonged to Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Classic Thunderbird Club International, Southern Kentucky/ Middle Tennessee All-Breed Cat Club, Gourmet Cooking Forum, and the Alumni Association of Fisk and Meharry. She was listed in Who's Who of American Women.

Dr. White was a member of outstanding Fisk and Meharry families. Georgia Gordon Taylor, one of the original Fisk Jubilee Singers, (FJS2), (FJS3), (FJS4), was the first of the family to attend the University. She was a cousin of Dr. White's grandfather, Charles H. White.

Throughout her life, Dr. White brought pleasure to family and friends by using her innate artistic talent to design and make clothes, hats, and purses, do interior decorating, and create arrangement and centerpieces for banquets and dinners. One of her last projects, in celebration of her fiftieth year anniversary at Meharry, was displayed in lobby of the School of Dentistry for many years. Her other special interests were antique cars and Siamese cats. She was also instrumental in making sure that Mrs. Turpin was made aware each year of the celebration of Turpin Memorial Day and providing corsages for Mrs. Turpin and her guests.