JEAN I. GEAN

CHESAPEAKE BEACH, Md. -- Jean Ireland Gean, 85, of Chesapeake Beach and former resident of Sumter for more than 30 years, died Jan. 3, 2008, in Olney, Md., surrounded by her children and grandchildren.

Born in Syracuse, N.Y., in 1922 and a graduate of Central High School there, Jean married West Point graduate 2nd Lt. Kirby Alexander Gean in January 1943. Caring for her two children and making a home for them in posts all over the United States and abroad took much of her adult life. The love and devotion lavished on her family and close friends was transposed later in life to caring for many ailing and elderly members of her family, including her neighbor.

She was sustained, in many instances, by her lifelong love for animals and gardening. She was a frequent visitor at the Sumter SPCA.

This extraordinary woman is survived by her son, Kirby Alexander Gean II of Huntingtown, Md.; daughter, Terry Lee Gean of Olney; grandchildren, Wendy Renee Chaves and Justin Kirby Gean, also of Olney; and her great-grandchildren, Victoria Marie Chaves, Alexander Gean Chaves, Andrew Carter Gean and Owen Kirby Gean.

A memorial service was held for Jean on Jan. 12 in Olney.

An inurnment service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 21, at Evergreen Memorial Park, intersection of Wise and Guignard drives, where she will lie beside her late husband, Larry M. Staley of Sumter.

God bless you, mother. We know you reside with the Heavenly Father, where you truly deserve to be.