Edith Jeanette “Jean” Warriner was born a year after American women won the right to vote. She had hoped to see a woman elected president, but did not live long enough to witness that event. She died on August 3 in Monterey at the age of 97.
Jean lived a life devoted to the pursuit of justice, spiritual seeking, adventure, and steadfast purpose. She was born and reared in Glendale, California, the daughter of Dr. Wilbert W. Warriner and Faith Garnsey Warriner. She was the second of three children and the only girl. Her older brother claimed that she was “bossy.” She attended Hoover High School and UCLA before enlisting in the Coast Guard during World War II. She wanted to serve her country overseas, but as a woman, that option was not available. She spent the war years in Florida and South Carolina, working as a supply officer.
After the war, she returned to college; this time to Occidental in Los Angeles. She graduated in 1947 with a bachelor’s degree in history and economics and went to work as a historical researcher at the Huntington Library in Pasadena. She also worked at the Modern Institute of Art in Los Angeles before deciding to travel with friends through Europe for several months.
When she returned, she moved to Carmel, where she went to work as a travel agent, then as a registrar at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. After retiring in the 1980s, Jean volunteered for a number of organizations including the Auxiliary of Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula, and the Carmel Foundation. In her spare time, she loved to golf, a “hobby” she avidly pursued into her mid-80s. She also was an avid consumer of books—the denser the better!— that pondered the meaning of life. As young woman, she spent time in a Hollywood ashram as a devotee of the Vedanta philosophy, and carried a passion for knowledge and understanding throughout her life.
Jean was predeceased by her parents and brothers, James and Will Warriner. She is survived by her niece Kathleen Cairns and husband Larry Lynch; her nephews Terry Warriner and Tom Warriner, and Tom’s wife Cathy; as well as many grandnieces and nephews and great-grandnieces and nephews.
She is also survived by her dear friends Jacqueline Shaffer of Pacific Grove, and Cathy Rogers of Monterey. Her family and friends would like to thank the dedicated caregivers at Sunrise of Monterey for making her last years so comfortable and joyous. She truly loved all of you.
A memorial will be held on Saturday, September 15, at 3 p.m. at Sunrise of Monterey, 1110 Cass Street, Monterey. Please visit www.thepaulmortuary.com to sign Jean’s guest book and leave messages for her family.
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