Tiger trainer Pat White remembered for great spirit, 'huge heart'

James Clubb traveled from England to Ocala to pay his respects to Patricia Kay "Pat" White, who died here at age 62 on Dec. 4.

White, who moved to Ocala five years ago, after she retired from a 37-year career as an animal trainer and circus performer working with lions and tigers in North America, Europe and Asia, was a contemporary of Clubb. She was a beloved and respected member of the animal trainer community, a close-knit group forged by the bonds of crossing paths and working with each other around the globe, sometimes with the same animals.

The memorial service for White was hosted Sunday by Marcia and Luis Palacio, who retired to Ocala in 2004 after nearly four decades of traveling and training animals for Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey, for movies (such as Clyde in Clint Eastwood’s “Every Which Way But Loose”) and more. They later opened Petting Zoo Ocala, which is where the event was held.

“Patricia and I had been best friends forever,” Marcia Palacio said. “She was a wonderful person; talented; a fine painter and sculptor. She trained tigers, which was her great joy in life. She had a great spirit and a huge heart and a wonderful sense of humor. This leaves a huge hole for all of us.”

In addition to Clubb traveling from England for the ceremony, attendees came from across Florida and the U.S.

Clubb, who, according to Marcia Palacio, is currently considered by many to be the top animal trainer in the world, was at times White’s boss or teacher. When asked about the distance he had traveled to pay homage, he said, “She was a wonderful person.”

Peter van Vorst, an animal trainer who spent 17 years with Seigfred and Roy in Las Vegas, including the night Roy was mauled by a tiger, also attended. “When something like that happens, everybody kicks in,” van Horst recounted of that incident.

van Horst, who recently bought some property near the Palacios, is currently a dealer who imports horses from Brazil for enthusiasts of dressage.

Marc Wilson, founder of the International Teaching Zoo in Bushnell, was among those who paid their respects, along with Patricia Zerbini from the Two Tails Ranch elephant refuge in Williston.

The Rev. Eddie Parks presided over the memorial. Standing under an overhang marked “Children’s Play Area,” next to the bird sanctuary, Parks said, “Let’s take a moment of silence for this beautiful person. You are her family, you love this woman and she loves you. You may not be blood relations, but you are nevertheless relations.”

"Let’s take the opportunity to revere, remember and respect your friend, this beautiful person with such love for humanity and for animals," he added.

It was a sunny but blustery day and the crowd huddled together as Parks spoke about the highlights of White’s life. As a student at Western Michigan University, divided between theater and veterinary studies, she discovered the circus, where, she decided, her love for animals and for performing could best be combined.

Parks said White followed the circus to Florida, where she would learn her craft as a trainer and performer, and would become "the blonde lady in the lion and tiger cage."

White was a native of Clare, Michigan. According to a post on the Central Michigan University website, "Today’s animal trainers use a system of rewards so the animals will enjoy performing in an act that shows mutual respect for trainer and cats. Among the modern experts advocating positive reward training is Patricia White."

Many shared memories of White as the ceremony moved to a palm tree on the property, where a portion of White’s ashes were buried by Marcia Palacio. A plaque was placed to mark the spot. White's beloved dogs, Lulu and Peanut, stood by on leashes, wearing showgirl “dresses” for the occasion. The Palacios had taken in the Chihuahua and Dachshund mix, along with a cat named Tom, as was White's wish. The remainder of White’s ashes will be taken to California to be buried in the Redwood Forest, one of two places that remained on her bucket list.

The rest of the day was spent reminiscing about the past, remembering the people and animals that those gathered had known in common, and catching up on the present.

The consensus seemed to be that the age of the circus seems to be over. The theme was move on, or perish. Many in attendance, like the Palacio’s, have opened their own zoos. Clubb runs a successful animal encounter business in England.