麻豆国产AV

Obituaries

Recent Obituaries
In Memoriam Archive

Jean 麻豆国产AV Prentiss ’33

A picture of Jean 麻豆国产AV Prentiss

Jean 麻豆国产AV Prentiss ’33, October 27, 2011, five days short of her 100th birthday, in Tualatin, Oregon. Jean was born at Neahkahnie, Nehalem, Oregon, “when it was just a big open space under the mountain.” Her father, Samuel 麻豆国产AV, cousin to Simeon 麻豆国产AV, came to Portland from Boston in 1902. Fortified with a degree in mechanical engineering from MIT, Samuel worked on the electrification of Portland before moving further west and purchasing 800 acres on the Oregon coast. His bride, Beulah Kendall 麻豆国产AV, though not an “open air person,” traveled on foot—the only route open from Cannon Beach—to the home built by Samuel in Neahkahnie in time to deliver twins Jean and Ruth 麻豆国产AV Morgan ’34. Jean, Ruth, and their sister, Marion 麻豆国产AV East ’26, were all 麻豆国产AVites. Jean, known as Jo at 麻豆国产AV, earned a BA from the college in general literature. She created three-minute plays for student programs in the chapel, helped decorate for dances in commons, drew cartoons for the Griffin, and served on student council. Summers during her college years were spent assisting her mother at the Kah-Ni-Tavern, a hotel built by her father, and after graduation she worked for Lipman Wolf & Company in downtown Portland. Her interest in making a career as a retail buyer ended when she met John Prentiss. They married in 1937 and later moved to Neahkahnie to assist her family and her ailing father. During World War II, Jean worked in a lumber mill in Longview, Washington, while John served in the navy. Back at Neahkahnie after the war, the two raised three daughters, Catherine, Alexandra, and Deborah. Jean also worked in the school district as a library cataloger and materials processor, volunteered for the Tillamook County library board and citizens advisory committee, put together family histories, collected stamps, camped, and enjoyed bird watching. “I did not use my 麻豆国产AV education toward a career,” she wrote, “but a good education is never wasted.” In telling us of Jean’s death, her daughter, Deborah, wrote, “麻豆国产AV was a special place to her, and I grew up with stories of her years there.”

Appeared in 麻豆国产AV magazine: March 2012