Jeanne Brannan

Jeanne Williams ( Brannan) was born March 7, 1929 in Denver, Colorado. Her parents were Edward and Marian Williams. Upon her birth she was given the name Edith Eleanor Jeanne after her grandmothers, Edith and Eleanor but she was known as Jeanne her entire life. Jeanne attended Lincoln Elementary, Byers Junior High and South High School all located in Denver.

Before Jeanne graduated from high school, her parents moved to Salt Lake City, Utah and she graduated from South High School in Salt Lake City. Upon returning to Denver she lived with her mother, sister Shirley, brother Barry and grandmother Gertrude (Gertie).

After High school Jeanne was working for Mountain Bell Telephone Company in Denver. During the summer of 1946 she met her future husband Bill Brannan square dancing in a barn in Phillipsburg, Colorado. They began dating, fell in love and were married on January 17, 1947 when Jeanne was just seventeen and Bill nineteen. They were married in a small ceremony at the home of a cousin of Jeanne. After celebrating by spending a night at the Broadmoor Hotel they began married life in a small house located behind Jeanne’s mother’s house on Elati Street in Englewood.

Bill and Jeanne had four children in five years. Jeanne gave birth to three boys, Richard Lee born in 1947, Mark Allen in 1950 and William Lee (junior) in 1951. Five years after Richard was born along came a daughter Jeanne Marie in 1952. In 1950 before Bill Jr. was born the family moved to Grand Junction along with Jeanne’s mother, brother and grandmother where Bill worked as a plumber until 1955. In 1955 Jeanne, Bill and their children returned to Denver when Bill began working for the Denver Police Department.

When the children grew older Jeanne began working at Wheatridge Regional Center in Wheatridge as a recreation therapist. She continued working there for many years until her retirement in 1984. Bill had retired the previous year and they began traveling along with Bill’s brother Don. They visited Malaysia, Borneo and Mexico with Don and on the trip to Mexico they were also accompanied by Bill’s sister Mary Ellen.

Bill and Jeanne both had a love for the mountains of Colorado and owned a cabin in Bailey, then later several homes in Grand Lake where they spent time during weekends and on short vacations. Bill was handy and usually made improvements on their homes including building decks and an outdoor sauna. During this time they also enjoyed RVing and belonged to RV camping groups. They went on several trips with these groups visiting the western United States and Canada.

After retirement they began visiting Arizona and enjoyed it so much they bought a home in Yuma where they enjoyed playing golf a few times each week. They spent the next three decades spending part of the year in the Denver area and part in Yuma, Arizona. During this time Bill and Jeanne owned several boats and enjoyed fishing in Mexico. They also went on cruises to Mexico, Hawaii and the Bahamas. They also enjoyed ballroom, line and Latin dancing.

In 2014 Jeanne and Bill flew to Normandy, France to attend the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy. The trip was sponsored by the College of the Ozarks near Branson Missouri. They were accompanied on this trip by their son Richard, his wife Gail, granddaughter Carol Anne and her husband Allen and great granddaughter Emily.

Bill and Jeanne continued to winter in Yuma until 2017 when they were no longer able to travel.. They spent the last three plus years of their life living at Brookdale in Lakewood, Colorado.

Jeanne was preceded in death by her grandparents, parents, brother Barton Colyer Williams and two granddaughters, Nicole Carolyn and Linda Jeanne. She was also preceded in death by Bill her husband of 74 years. They were not separated long as he only preceded her by four months.

Jeanne was ushered into Heaven on January 19, 2021 while still living at Brookdale. Jeanne is survived by her sister Shirley Moyer of Loveland. She is also survived by sons Richard Brannan of Rangely Colorado, Mark Brannan of Littleton, Colorado, Bill Brannan of Jacksonville, Oregon and daughter Jeanne Meyers of Jefferson, Colorado. She is also survived by six grandchildren, nineteen great grandchildren and one great grandson.