Jeanette Difrancesco Lardiere

Jeanette (Jennie) was born on September 11, 1949 to Harry and Christine Difranceso in New York City. After graduating from Friends Seminary, where Jeanette was a standout girls basketball player, she went on to received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Goucher College which she attended during the height of the 1960s anti-war movement, the spirit of which she carried with her for her entire life. Jeanette went on to receive her Master’s Degree in psychology from Seton Hall University when she returned to school in the 1980s after getting married to Dr. James A. Quinn who predeceased her and with whom she had two children, Antonio Quinn (45) and Francesca Quinn (42).

Jeanette was predeceased by her parents, Harry and Christine and by her sister, Christine Difrancesco Bricker, who passed away in 2017. Jeanette was the last surviving member of a large extended Italian family in and around New York City.

A child of the 60s, Jeanette devoted her career to helping the disadvantaged while being employed by several hospitals, a homeless shelter and an addiction recovery center in White Plains, New York. Jeanette will be remembered as a devoted mother to her two children whom she never failed to put her before herself. She was a kind and compassionate woman while at the same time having a dark and dry sense of humor that made her special.

Jeanette might have possibly been the greatest Jeopardy to have never been a champion on the show. She was always content to run the categories and answer every question correctly from the comfort of her own home while imparting her wisdom upon her two loving children who both became professionals as well as entrepreneurs which neither could have done without the support of their devoted mother. She was a best friend and an all-knowing advisor to both Antonio and Francesca.

Jeanette was a lifelong fan of New York Sports. She was a Giants fan and a devoted Yankee fan all the way back to the days of the M&M boys. She cried the day that Roger Maris died.

While she loved helping people, Jeanette preferred dogs to people and her family is comforted with the knowledge that her beloved Sophie is finally back by her side for her to spoil with love again. In addition to her children, Jeanette is also survived by her dog Max, and her two dog grandchildren, Jackson and Willy. Jeanette was a monthly donor to the ASPCA because she was not the kind of person who could bear to see dogs suffering and not do what she could to help.

A lover of music and movies, Jeanette was a Beatles fan from their beginning and she imparted her musical taste on her children who grew to love and appreciate the same classic rock as their mother.

After a bout of illness, Jeanette had relocated to Boulder from New York in 2019 in order to be closer to her daughter Francesca who feels lucky to have had the opportunity to spend her mother’s last years with her. Jeanette found happiness in Boulder and it quickly became her home. Although regrettably cut short, Jeanette’s last years in Boulder were happy ones.

In her final days, she stated that she was not afraid of dying but that she was only afraid of not living. Now she has seen the clouds from both sides now and on the Flatiron Mountains in the shadow of her home we can see her reflection in the snow covered hills.

A small service for close family will be held on December 30, 2022. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.cristmortuary.com for the Lardiere family.