Jean Heyse, 97, passed away on February 21, 2020 at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins. Jean was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 1, 1922 to James and Mabel Sullivan. She graduated with a straight-A record from Calumet High School in Chicago and earned a one-year full ride scholarship to a business school. She then worked in the business office of Sears Roebuck in Chicago. She met David Heyse in the choir at Seventh Presbyterian Church and they married in 1942. Following David’s military service in WWII, the couple made their home near her parents in Chicago. Jean worked for the Swift & Company research lab in the Chicago Stockyards from 1953-1983, initially as a stenographer and subsequently as an executive secretary and accountant. After retiring, she volunteered as a reader for Books for the Blind, building on her childhood love of reading. She lived in Orland Park, Illinois, with son Norman and his family after David moved to a nursing home in 2001. In 2007, she moved to Fort Collins to live with son Donald and his family. As her health declined, she moved into Good Samaritan Village in Fort Collins in December, 2019.
Jean is remembered for her warmth, kindness, sense of humor, and generous laugh. She loved her sons and their families, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She also loved CHOCOLATE, working crossword puzzles, watching baseball (especially the Cubs), Jeopardy, the Wheel of Fortune, and The Lucy Show. She is preceded by her parents and David. She is survived by sons Don (Patty) and Norman (Donna), grandchildren Heather Smith (Kurt), Josh Heyse (Carolyn), Kevin Heyse (Amy), Amy Montuori (Anthony), Erin Slocum (Darin), and eight (soon to be nine) great-grandchildren.
