| Graduation Year | Class of 1965 |
| Date of Passing | Oct 04, 2016 |
| About | (from her obituary) "Jeanie to many, passed from this life to more life on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016, after a valiant 5-year battle with Multiple Myeloma before succumbing to Ovarian Cancer. "She was born in Englewood, N.J. to Margery and Douglas Beucler on Dec. 22, 1946 and was raised in Leonia, N.J. A graduate of Leonia High School, she helped celebrate her 50th reunion last fall by compiling and emailing classmates' bios helping to build momentum for the reunion. "Jean graduated from Muskingum College, New Concord, Ohio in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in education. She was a member of the Kianu Club, whose sisters and those of rival sororities provided her with lifelong friendships. She taught elementary school for 20 years beginning with 3rd grade in Haverford, Pa. After taking a break to raise her two children, she resumed teaching in Granby. She completed her master's degree in 1990 at St. Joseph College, West Hartford. Jean taught 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade, completing her career with kindergarten, but her favorite was 3rd - which David saw as her calling because the children were old enough to get her humor. "While living in Simsbury, Jean was active in community affairs including years as an volunteer, Sunday school teacher, Blue Bird troop leader, GLP Yacht Club Board Member, and puppet show entertainer. "Following early retirement to Mystic in 2003, she was busier than ever, playing tennis and golf, honing her bridge game and starting a book club and bridge group at Stonington Country Club. It went from being "David's golf club" to plain SCC as she became active. Jean enjoyed the club all the more given it was just down the road from the 1635 ancestral farmhouse that her grandmother inherited in 1956. She spent summers there until it left the family in 1974. "Jean began to focus on the family history handed down from her grandmother and mother. She wrote various historical articles for the Mystic River Press, combed through her family archives and began her passionate interest in her Denison family heritage and the Denison Homestead. Starting as a volunteer education coordinator, she joined the board and served as president from 2006 to 2012. She immersed herself in the task of preserving the Homestead and insuring that it's unique gift of 120 undeveloped acres would remain for all to enjoy. While much remains to be done, she leaves the organization much stronger than she found it. "Jean met her husband, David, when she was the first woman to arrive at Muskingum in September 1965, and he was tasked with carrying her bags into her freshman dorm as part of the Sophomore Men's Honorary. Her father loved to tell the story that David was also there to carry them out when she graduated! They were married for more than 47 years, but saw each other almost daily for 51 years thanks to those college years. "Of all that she accomplished, she was most proud of being a wife and mother to Dan and Becky. She welcomed our son-in-law, Rob, with open arms as he joined our family eight years ago and was thrilled these past three years to be a loving grandmother to Rowen. "Most of all Jean tried to live a life of kindness to all - a lesson she taught to all of her students. She felt that her last kindness was to try to live courageously with her cancer, to not complain, to keep her sense of humor and to offer encouragement to others to be brave in the face of adversity. And accomplish this she did! And regarding kindness, she wanted to thank everyone who has shown kindness to our family in so many ways. "Jean is survived by her husband, David; her son, Daniel "Dan"; her daughter, Rebecca "Becky"; her son-in-law, Rob; and grandson, Rowen; her brother, Dwight and his wife, Barbara; and niece, Linda; and nephew, Geoffrey." I was fortunate to spend some time visiting her in a Seattle hospital, when she became ill upon returning from an Alaska cruise. |
