Jeanne McGrath

(Mass at 9am, on 11/22, will be live streamed. Go to https://stmmchurch.com and click on "Livestream)

Jeanne McGrath was a living example of Christ’s love. Jeanne was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After she graduated from Catholic Central High School, she went on to study and graduate from the University of Michigan.

She married Mike in 1959. Five years and four children later, she was well on her way to being a devoted wife and mother. She committed herself to creating a safe, nurturing, and loving home environment. Jeanne and Mike were devout in their faith, and this was evident in the way they modeled Christ’s love through their support and upbringing of their children.

Mike’s career moved the family to six cities over an eighteen-year period. Jeanne (known to love others by feeding them!) started every first meal in the new home with a warm family meal of pot roast and love. With every move her family grew closer. She taught her children to rely on their close relationships the same way she did with her mother, sisters, and extended family. When Jeanne decided to do something, very little could stop her.

In 1984, the family was living in Muscatine, Iowa, and her children were in High School, so she resolved to pursue a master's degree in Speech and Language Pathology at the University of Iowa. She commuted two to three evenings a week to Iowa City for over a year. Even though she was not home for dinner, the table was set, and a meal was waiting when her children got home from school each day. She was commuting and studying, yet nothing was missed at home for her family.

After a year or so Mike’s job moved the family to St. Louis, and she finished her master's degree. Jeanne graduated from Saint Louis University with a 4.0 cumulative grade point average. She went on to work as a Speech Pathologist in many St. Louis Hospitals and retired after working several years as a contractor. Mom was known most for her compassion and respect in the way she treated her patients.

Jeanne and Mike retired to Pensacola, Florida, where they built their dream home on the beach. When they weren’t traveling the world, they were enjoying the waterfront life with their children and grandchildren.

For years Jeanne had been painting in oils and watercolors as a hobby, but in Pensacola her passion and ability as an artist bloomed. As a professional artist she was well known in Pensacola and beyond. She excelled in watercolor, acrylics and mixed media. Her work was displayed in several art galleries, and she won many awards. She was known for her free-spirited style and her use and manipulation of lights, darks, and color in her work.

Throughout Jeanne’s life she has never known a stranger. Her compassion and love poured out to the people around her. She has literally given the shirt off her back to those in need. Her warm smile and sense of humor, her gentle touch to anyone who needed comfort, her unconditional love and mercy, were living examples of Christ’s love for us. Well done, good and faithful servant.

Jeanne McGrath, age 86, of St. Louis passed away peacefully on Wednesday, November 15, 2023. Beloved wife of A. Michael McGrath, Jr.; loving mother of Kathy (Ken) McGrath-Ray, Mike McGrath, Dan McGrath, and the late Susan Forman; dear mother-in-law of Matt Forman; dear grandmother of Sarah Ray, Michael, Megan, Erin, Danny Jr., Ryan, and Kevin McGrath, Jeremy and Natalie Forman, great grandmother of Jackson; dear sister of Mary Ann (the late Tom) Beenen and Diane (the late Jack) Sauline.

SERVICES: Visitation, Wednesday, November 22nd from 8:30 - 9:00 am at

St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church, 2618 S. Brentwood Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63144. Memorial Mass to follow at 9:00 am.

In lieu of flowers, Contributions to Mercy Hospice Care are appreciated.