Jeanette Evelyn St.Clair

Jeanette Evelyn St. Clair, 95, passed away peacefully on March 4, 2020. She was born on July 17, 1924, to Anker and Pearl Simonsen, and spent her childhood in Askov, Minnesota, a small Danish village. Jeanette had a brother, Buddy, who passed away as a child, and she is predeceased by her sister, Delores Germundsen, and her husband, Charles R. St. Clair, Jr. Jeanette was valedictorian of her high school, and she attended the University of Minnesota for one year. She was recruited to Purdue University in 1943 to be a Curtiss-Wright Cadette. These women were selected to be trained in the college of engineering to aid in the critical shortage of trained personnel during WWII. While at Purdue she met her husband, Chuck, and they were married in 1944. Jeanette is survived by her three children, Charles R. St. Clair, III, Scott St. Clair (Judy) and Deborah Short (Tim), as well as by 5 grandchildren, 2 daughter-in-laws, and 4 great-grandchildren.

Jeanette devoted her life to her family. She understood who she was and lived life generously and with an open acceptance. It was hard losing her husband after 55 years of marriage, but Jeanette continued to give of herself to her community through volunteer work, singing, book clubs, church and wonderful trips with friends. Long-time friends talk of her gift of hospitality, her classiness (!) and how she was a strong, independent thinker who worked to create opportunities for women to serve their communities. After working for 15 years for the MSU library department, in retirement she established and led the Republican Women of Leelanau County, Michigan, committed to building a strong, knowledgeable and effective group of women. She loved living at Glen Lake, and she built a home there that has served as a place of rest and refreshment for family and many friends.

In her last few years, Jeanette enjoyed friendships at the Colonnades, The Green Olive Tree, and Crozet United Methodist Church. She found contentment amidst struggles and showed all who knew her how to live gracefully, with a twinkle in her eye.

A celebration of Jeanette’s life will take place at Crozet United Methodist Church (CUMC),1156 Crozet Avenue, Crozet, VA, on Saturday, March 21 at 1:00pm. In lieu of flowers, donations in her honor can be made to the Hospice of the Piedmont, 675 Jefferson Pkwy, Charlottesville VA, or to CUMC.