She was born May 6, 1940 in Detroit, MI to Edgar Hamilton Fisher and Margaret Irene Thomas Fisher. Jean received her Bachelor of Arts in English at the University of Akron, attending part time in the evenings for years while raising her young family. She finished her Master’s in Library Science at Case Western Reserve University. Jean worked at the Northeastern University’s College of Medicine as a librarian for 20 years.
She married her high school sweetheart, Stanley R. Jarosz, in Niagara Falls, NY in 1958. The family moved to Akron, OH, lived a short time in Houston, TX and back to Ohio for the remainder of their years together. They were married for 53 years before Stan died in 2011.
Their final home together on Sandy Lake in Ravenna housed a hub of activity for their grown children, grandchildren, extended family and friends for 38 years. Jean loved to have people visit and enjoy the lake, and especially loved hosting during 4th of July Splash Days. She enjoyed gardening, spending time with her flower gardens and loved this beautiful family home. Jean most especially loved to see the world and spent a lot of time planning and traveling with many members of her immediate and extended family. One favorite was an ancestral trip to Wales with her brother-in-law, James DeRose, and her mother when she turned 80. She traveled across Europe with her daughter and another trip with her nieces. She instilled the dream of travel and adventure in her grandchildren by traveling on four small multigenerational trips across Europe before her health declined.
Jean enjoyed the birds and squirrels around her lake home, supported the arts, loved to shop and spent a lot of time organizing. Stan and Jean bought a motorhome to travel in their retirement. They made several trips over the years in the RV across the US and up the East Coast, down to Florida, and to Alaska to name a few. They purchased a condo in Dunedin, FL for their final years of retirement, which sadly only Jean was able to enjoy after Stan passed away.
She is survived by her daughter, Sheryl (David Bryant) Stroud Bryant of Fredericksburg, VA; sons Kenneth (Jo) Jarosz of Akron; Dale (Laura) Jarosz of Palm Harbor, FL; Gary (Paula) Jarosz of Ravenna; grandchildren, Fisher, Madison and Cameron Stroud; Rebecca, Aidan, Molly and Lydia Bryant; Matthew and Nathan Jarosz; Carli and Codie Jarosz; brother-in-law, Leo (Betsy) Jarosz of Lewiston, NY; brother-in-law, Donald Lapoint of Roseville, CA; sister, Phyllis Sherman of Ridgeville, CT; seven nieces and four nephews and numerous grandnieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her parents and her sister, Nancy Beth Fisher DeRose.
Jean will be cremated and her ashes will be placed next to her husband’s in Granville, OH. A celebration of life will be decided at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please donate to a favorite cause in Jean’s name.
Condolences and memories may be shared at www.wood-kortright-borkoski.com.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18