Jean T. Janes

Jean Tucker Janes, 102, of Moline, Illinois, formerly of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, died Thursday, March 31, 2016, in Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House, Bettendorf, Iowa, after suffering from congestive heart failure for several days.

A funeral celebrating Jean's long life will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 7, 2016, at Trimble Funeral Home at Trimble Pointe, 701 12th Street, Moline, with The Reverend Craig Jan-McMahon officiating and The Reverend Dr. Robert Miller assisting. Visitation is from 4 to 6 p.m. prior to the service. Friends are invited to join Jean's family at a hospitality reception in CityView Celebrations at Trimble Pointe following the service.

Jean's funeral celebration will continue in Minnesota with a visitation from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, April 8, 2016, at First Presbyterian Church of South St. Paul, 535 20th Avenue North, South St. Paul. Funeral services are 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 9, in the stone chapel at Acacia Park Cemetery, Mendota Heights, Minnesota, with The Reverend Katherine Estes officiating. Visitation is one hour before the service, and burial will follow in the cemetery.

Memorials may be made to GiGi's Playhouse Down Syndrome Achievement Center, Moline, or Minnesota Prader-Willi Syndrome Association, Blaine, Minnesota.

The former Jean Kelton Tucker was born January 1, 1914, in Minneapolis, to Merton Harold and Bertha Blanche (Berry) Tucker. She graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Social Work in 1935, was very active in Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority, and, as President of the Cap and Gown Society, led the women in the graduation procession. She married St. Paul attorney Alexander Leslie Janes, Jr., on May 4, 1946. Les died on September 15, 1994. Jean joined St. Paul Family Service in 1942, and, with a few years off to raise her daughters, retired in 1975 as assistant director. She was an early trail blazer for women social workers and founded the Family Service Homemakers Service. After her retirement, she did volunteer service for Ramsey County Hospital Volunteer Association for 20 years, and served as president of its board.

Jean nurtured and supported her daughter, Nancy Ann, who had Prader-Willi Syndrome, until her death in 2009, at 54 years of age. In 1989, Jean moved from her beloved St. Paul to Becketwood Cooperative in Minneapolis so she could be near her Les, who was in the Minnesota Veterans Home for 8 ½ years following a stroke, and so she could visit him daily. In 2004, Jean moved to the Quad Cities to be near her family, who brightened her days and filled her with joy, and received the blessing of her love in return.

Jean was active in many community organizations. Among them, she was an Elder and 60-year member of North Como Presbyterian Church (now New Life Presbyterian Church) in Roseville, Minnesota, president of the Alpha Gamma Delta Alumnae Association, active in American Association of University Women and Planned Parenthood in its early years, and president and 45-year member of Chapter BA of PEO Sisterhood. Jean loved sports … but only Minnesota teams. Whether it was the Gophers, the Twins, or the Vikings, she would watch and listen to every game she could. She made friends wherever she went and her smile and wit will be remembered by all who knew her.

A good friend wrote, "Jean made living to be 102 years old look like it was the best thing on earth. None of us can keep going on forever, but Jean certainly showed us that you can have fun trying. She died as she lived … with great dignity and a sense of humor and pure delight in her family and their accomplishments. We should all be so blessed." The day before she died, Jean said "I have had blessings too many to count and few regrets."

Jean was a special woman whose 102 years have been a blessing to many, including her beloved daughter and "favorite" son-in-law, Barbara and Eric Trimble; her grandchildren, Amy Kelton Trimble, and Reid and Jennifer Trimble; and her very special great-grandchildren, Tucker, Claire, and Graham Trimble, all of Moline; her loving nieces and nephew, Sue Tucker, Mary Solomon, and Bob and Ann Tucker, and all of their families; her very dear friend Sue Swegle; her Chapter BA Sisters, and all those who called her "Grandma Jean." She was preceded in death by her husband, Les; her daughter, Nancy Ann; and her brothers and sisters-in-law, Almon "Art" and Joan Tucker, and Robert and Ruth Tucker.

Please share your memories of Jean, and read messages from others whose lives she has touched, at www.TrimbleFuneralHomes.com.