April 25, 1951 to June 4, 2023
Teacher, master baker and quilter, genealogist, world traveler, inspirer, nurturer, friend, cancer beater, and protector of her people, Jeanne Brislen (née Falloon) died as she lived: on a mission, with love in her heart and a goal in mind. That she successfully completed her last mission in her final hours comes as no surprise to those who knew her.
Jeanne was born in Evergreen Park, Illinois, and graduated from Northern Illinois University in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in education. She later earned a master’s degree in reading education from Purdue University while maintaining a full-time job and raising two young sons. She spent 30 years in the Blue Island School District, most of it as a primary grade reading specialist, before retiring in 2010. Jeanne was passionate about her vocation. She was an advocate and champion for her students, able to see the individual child and create perceptive, highly individualized lesson plans to help them thrive. She consistently got results by teaching with joy in her heart and clear boundaries: “My room, my rules” she would say with a smile, and her kids would respond, knowing they were in a safe space with a teacher who cared.
Her life as an educator allowed her to wander the world when school was not in session. She continued the pattern after retirement, exploring France, Ireland, the U.K., Central America, and North America with her husband, sisters, and friends. She rode a camel in the Australian Outback in her 30s and went zip lining in Alaska in her 60s. Some of her favorite trips involved visiting family across the U.S., often using the occasion to deliver her latest handmade quilt to celebrate a marriage or birth. Indeed, Jeanne’s heirloom-quality quilts today grace beds, cribs, and shoulders across the country, and are a living example of how she continues to touch and comfort her loved ones.
An avid baker, Jeanne also delivered comfort in the form of a nine-inch pie plate. Her homemade pies were legendary. Each fall, she would collect apples, peaches, blueberries, and cherries from local orchards and farmers’ markets, and create edible masterpieces that were intended as dessert but sometimes supplanted dinner. She instructed three generations in the art of making a pie crust using a recipe provided by her younger sister. Jeanne was also a legendary baker of Irish soda bread who, along with her older sister, rescued her grandmother’s original recipe and passed it to her siblings, grandchildren, nieces and nephews—another living legacy.
Jeanne died as she wanted: at home, her husband at her side, having seen her boys and beloved grandsons one last time. She is survived by her husband of 49½ years, Joe; sons Sean (April) and Josh (Haldis); grandsons Aiden and Stellan; six siblings; many loved and loving in-laws; and dozens of nieces and nephews. Memorial services are pending. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Salvation Army www.salvationarmy.org or World Central Kitchen www.wck.org
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.woodlawnchicago.com for the Brislen family.
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