It is with sadness we note Jeanne’s passing on December 28 last year. One month before her forty-ninth birthday she died of colon cancer. She has not been very active in the Club in the recent past. So some of the newer Members may not have had the pleasure of meeting her and not know all she did for our Club. Many, if not most, of those who have been around longer knew her. She was very active in the 1990s, when she did a lot with and for our Club. Probably more than most of us remember.
Jeanne was S-t-S editor for several years as we transitioned to Desktop Publishing. This was back in the days when she could brag about a machine with 40 megabytes of memory. She and John Sherman shared the SSSS Sportsmanship Award for their work on the newsletter.
She also did a lot of graphics for SSSS: fliers, posters etc.. That includes what is probably our best known Toliva shirt design. It seems the person who was to design the shirt for the 25th Toliva Shoal Race copped out. Jeanne found herself due at the shop in a couple of hours without a design to take to them. So she thought up and drew a simple cartoon with the Toliva Buoy, a boat under chute, and a couple of gambling sea gulls. Then it was off to the shop, no time left to proof read. Anyway spell checkers always tell you Toliva is spelled wrong, even when it is right.
Jeanne was serving on the Toliva RC when she found herself in the above predicament. That did not scare her off. She was on the Committee for several years, helping both on and off the water. She Chaired the Committee one year.
She spent several years on the SSSS Board. One year we held the Board Meetings at her apartment. She was Secretary for a year and Member-at-Large for another. But it is for the two years she served as Cruise Chair that she will be most remembered. Her enthusiasm and out reach revitalized that program, bringing in new people and bringing back those who had lost interest.
She was an active and enthusiastic Cruiser both before and after being Cruise Chair. She owned two boats: Imagine This and Imagine That. Her first boat was a Catalina 22 with which she, along with her son, Ryan, went on Cruises and daysailed. For a couple years. Until sold to her brother to buy a Catalina 27. This, decked out complete with a small stuffed genie down below and a large Norwegian flag in the rigging, was soon a regular at the Cruises.
Jeanne was an active racer, crewing on other’s boats. At different times she was a regular on Silverheels, Attitude Adjustment, Alien, Lars Jensen, and O-My-God ... and I bet I missed someone. Nor can I begin to mention all the boats she raced on for a race or series now and then. If I have Stephanie Kerr’s terminology right , she was a good “bow chick.”
She left her mark on our boats in an other way. She hand painted the names on several boats.
Jeanne was friendly, often smiling. She had a good sense of humor and was fun to be around. And a “Parrot Head”. She was Olympia born and raised and seemed to know everyone. She seemed get along with all she knew.
SSSS, and yours truly, will miss her.
Steve Worcester
Judi Kruller organized an informal SSSS memorial on what would have been Jeanne’s forty-ninth birthday. On January 29 a little over 20 Members met to remember her. We raised glasses in her memory at Budd Bay Cafe, before braving the cold and snow to gather at the waters edge. Some words were said. A few stories retold. We each tossed a flower into the bay. A few more flowers will be tossed on the water at the start of the next race in memory of Jeanne. Then we headed back inside to tell stories in smaller groups.
photos by Don Waterhouse
