Jeanette Rose Duckworth

JEANETTE ROSE (BROWN) DUCKWORTH died peacefully on Tuesday, September 25, 2018 at the Hospice House on the St. Lawrence campus of Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan. For 95 years, Jeanette lived a rich and rewarding life filled with cooking, needlework, Snoopy cartoons, family, and University of Michigan football.

Born February 15, 1923 to George Marion Brown and Leona Hope (Recker) Brown in Lemoyne, OH, Jeanette was the eldest of four children. While she was still young the family moved to an 80 acre farm just south of Lindsey, OH which would be the parental home for the next four decades. Jeanette graduated from Fremont Ross High School and the University of Michigan School of Nursing. She earned a Master of Science in nursing from the University of Colorado in Boulder. Her career in nursing administration took her back to Ann Arbor, to Midland, MI, and finally to Sparrow Hospital in Lansing. It was in Lansing that Jeanette met and married Ralph J. Duckworth, a senior quality control engineer at Oldsmobile. Jeanette and Ralph retired to Lake, MI where she was active in the Farwell United Methodist Church. Following Ralph’s death in 1998, she returned to East Lansing.

Jeanette was preceded in death by her parents and husband as well as her three siblings; Jane Detterman, Laura Long, and Dr. L. Ned Brown. Surviving are six nieces and nephews; Beth (Long) Woodland of Mesa, AZ, The Reverend Dr. Paul Detterman of River Forest, IL, Scott Long of Beaverton, OR, Dr. Elaine Brown of Billings, MT, Judy Brown of Austin, TX and Susan (Brown) Tabbee of Leander, TX. The family wishes to thank the staff of Sparrow Hospital and Hospice House for their outstanding care, as well as Jackie White, Jeanette’s personal assistant and close friend for the past 12 years. Jeanette’s life has ended, but her kindness, generosity, humor, and unwavering commitment to her family and friends live on. Go Blue!