Mom insisted that everyone call her simply Jean. She first married Lloyd Eugene Smith on 1 Jan 1941 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This union produced a son they named Jack but ended about 1944 in a divorce.
She married a second time on 8 Jun 1949 in Angola Indiana to Ralph Wayne Gilchrist. Her son Jack took the name Gilchrist and then "Jean" and "Wayne" adoped a son Randy and a daughter Daisy who was later renamed to Jane.
"Jean" functioned as a classic homemaker and loved it this way. In our family mom clearly functioned as the heart and social chairman while dad performed the duties of bread winner and educator.
We were always engaged in activities together. She loved to paint. While I was always invited to join in, it was years before I was allowed to tackle anything outside the closets in our house.
Mom made our home into a welcome center where people knew they were welcome to visit anytime. It was like one of today's coffee shops with neighbors or friends always dropping by to chat.
She even kept a box of old toys in the basement because some of the smaller neighborhood kids liked to wander in during the daytime to play.
She married a second time on 8 Jun 1949 in Angola Indiana to Ralph Wayne Gilchrist. Her son Jack took the name Gilchrist and then "Jean" and "Wayne" adoped a son Randy and a daughter Daisy who was later renamed to Jane.
"Jean" functioned as a classic homemaker and loved it this way. In our family mom clearly functioned as the heart and social chairman while dad performed the duties of bread winner and educator.
We were always engaged in activities together. She loved to paint. While I was always invited to join in, it was years before I was allowed to tackle anything outside the closets in our house.
Mom made our home into a welcome center where people knew they were welcome to visit anytime. It was like one of today's coffee shops with neighbors or friends always dropping by to chat.
She even kept a box of old toys in the basement because some of the smaller neighborhood kids liked to wander in during the daytime to play.
Mom insisted that everyone call her simply Jean. She first married Lloyd Eugene Smith on 1 Jan 1941 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This union produced a son they named Jack but ended about 1944 in a divorce.
She married a second time on 8 Jun 1949 in Angola Indiana to Ralph Wayne Gilchrist. Her son Jack took the name Gilchrist and then "Jean" and "Wayne" adoped a son Randy and a daughter Daisy who was later renamed to Jane.
"Jean" functioned as a classic homemaker and loved it this way. In our family mom clearly functioned as the heart and social chairman while dad performed the duties of bread winner and educator.
We were always engaged in activities together. She loved to paint. While I was always invited to join in, it was years before I was allowed to tackle anything outside the closets in our house.
Mom made our home into a welcome center where people knew they were welcome to visit anytime. It was like one of today's coffee shops with neighbors or friends always dropping by to chat.
She even kept a box of old toys in the basement because some of the smaller neighborhood kids liked to wander in during the daytime to play.
She married a second time on 8 Jun 1949 in Angola Indiana to Ralph Wayne Gilchrist. Her son Jack took the name Gilchrist and then "Jean" and "Wayne" adoped a son Randy and a daughter Daisy who was later renamed to Jane.
"Jean" functioned as a classic homemaker and loved it this way. In our family mom clearly functioned as the heart and social chairman while dad performed the duties of bread winner and educator.
We were always engaged in activities together. She loved to paint. While I was always invited to join in, it was years before I was allowed to tackle anything outside the closets in our house.
Mom made our home into a welcome center where people knew they were welcome to visit anytime. It was like one of today's coffee shops with neighbors or friends always dropping by to chat.
She even kept a box of old toys in the basement because some of the smaller neighborhood kids liked to wander in during the daytime to play.
Inscription
Gilchrist V. Jean 1924 - 1998
