Jeanne Raines Ayars

Jeanne was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on October 27, 1945 to Samuel P. and Katherine Rice Raines. She had a sister, Carol Hammett, who preceded her in death. Jeanne was educated in Little Rock and graduated from Hall High 1963. She went to the University of Arkansas, Little Rock and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Art in 1967. She taught art in St. Geneve, Missouri for a year and returned home to take a job in a travel agency where her love of travel began.

She met husband, Jim, on a blind date arranged by her best friend, Caroline Cossey while Jim was serving in the U.S. Air Force and stationed at Jacksonville, Arkansas. Jeanne’s friend was married to one of Jim’s fellow officers and it was through that connection the two met. This was the beginning of a 53-year marriage that took them all over the country and world, hitting every continent along the way.

After Jim left the Air Force, they married and moved to Ithaca, N.Y. while Jim worked for New York State, Jeanne was employed by a travel agency. One of the perks of her employment was a free cruise on the ship, Queen Elizabeth II, which had just been commissioned, so together they embarked on a honeymoon on the QE II. It was in Ithaca that their first daughter Kathleen was born. After a couple of years in Ithaca, Jim saw an advertisement for getting a Master’s of Science at Colorado State University (CSU). He was accepted and thus began the next phase of their lives.

It was off to Ft. Collins, CO where Jim studied for a M.S. degree in Agricultural Engineering that eventually became a Ph.D. During this time Jeanne took classes at CSU and worked on an MS in housing. This is also the time our daughter Amanda was born, just in time to move to Bowie, Maryland where Jim had accepted a job as an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland. Jeanne worked for an Engineering Firm assisting in studies on urban flood damages. It was during the first year in Colorado that we learned of Kathleen’s developmental disabilities, and it was in Maryland where Jeanne began her advocacy work for those with disabilities.

After a few years in Bowie, longing for a warmer climate and drier weather, there was an opportunity for Jim to get a job with USDA-ARS in Fresno, Ca. He took the job and moved the family to Fresno/Clovis in 1980 where they finally laid down some roots. Once again, Jeanne found a job with a travel agency and was off on familiarization trips provided by cruise lines. Eventually, Jeanne opened Ariel home, a foster care home for the developmentally disabled. She worked with the Central Valley Regional Center and provided in home care for young men and women with a wide range of disabilities as a care provider. Their third daughter, Alicia, the only true native Californian, was born a couple of years after the move to Fresno.

Jeanne found an outlet for her art talent when she joined the Grapevine Tolers and painted a wide range of decorative objects, bird houses, plates, nutcrackers. Her skill and talent were rewarded by several blue ribbons for pieces entered at the Fresno County Fair.

She will be remembered as a loving mother and wife. She brought joy to all she met with a smile that was contagious and her quirky mannerism. She is survived by her husband Jim, daughters Amanda (Jay Nevin) and Alicia (James Barker), her nieces Laura Millard and Lisa Price and their families and her grandchildren Abigail and Benjamin Nevin.