Jean Marie Medley

1926-2015

“Here’s to you and here’s to me” began our mom’s favorite toast. It continued, “But if by chance we disagree, to heck with you (sort of) and here’s to me.” Mom had her convictions.

Jean Azevedo was born in February 1926 in Benecia, California. In 1941, three days before Pearl harbor, mom became Jean Medley. Dad thought he’d found a sweet and pretty girl to love. When they parted by death 3 years ago he knew his life had been spent with a strong woman, willing and capable of moving mountains to care for those in her charge.

As a young girl, her mother was hospitalized for years at a time. She and her two oldest sisters, Eleanor and Doris ran the household and cared for their younger brother Ron while responding to their father’s often extreme demands. Their father decided a fourth and youngest sister, Wilma, should be given up for adoption to another part of my grandmother’s family. It was a harsh childhood that miraculously produced children of both character and compassion.

Mom never never avoided work of any kind. She worked as a telephone operator and for the Kellog company. Only briefly, was Mom happily unemployed. In the fall of 1968 after being told Dad had only months to live, she still had two kids to raise. She found a job at Omark Industries. Dad eventually recovered but once returning to work Mom never looked back. She excelled in her new career, out pacing and out performing others with more advanced training. Mom’s credentials never accurately measured her unmeasurable capabilities.

Mom was proudest of her family and friends. She was a committed sister, a caring mother, a delightful grandmother, and a great friend. Yes, she and Dad often bickered like the Bickersons but each would have died for the other. People like our mom don’t just come out of nowhere. They are formed out of trials, tempered by circumstances and seasoned with love. In her darkest hours Mom shined the brightest. So Mom, here’s to you and here’s to me, and if by chance we disagree? Well, let me think about it.