Jeanne E. Reilly

Jeanne Ellen Reilly (Holets), 68, of Derwood, Maryland, passed away on April 3, 2020, after a 20-month battle with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS).

Jeanne was born on August 11, 1951, in Washington, DC, to George and Doris Holets (Slabey) who preceded her in death. After graduating from Oxon Hill High School in 1969, she went on to study Early Childhood Development at Allegheny College and the University of Maryland, receiving her master’s degree in 1974. In 1970, while at Allegheny, she met Scott Reilly. They wed in 1973, with assistance from her grandfather, Reverend Andrew Slabey, and cheered by passing firetrucks as they came out the front door of Congress Heights United Methodist Church.

She took great joy in her career teaching preschoolers in co-operative and traditional nursery schools in Montgomery County, MD. Following her retirement from almost 30 years of teaching, she coordinated sessions bringing together senior citizens and students for Interages, now a program of the Jewish Council for Aging, and tutored 3rd graders in reading for the agency’s Grandreaders program.

For the last 27 years she was active at Mill Creek Parish United Methodist Church, singing in the Sanctuary Choir and playing English handbells. She directed the Cherub choir of 3 to 5-year-olds for 18 years, as well as leading the music at Vacation Bible School. She regularly attended women’s study groups and the annual women’s retreat.

Jeanne was passionate about the world and the arts through which we revere it. She played the piano, autoharp, handbells, and in her youth, flute. Around the house, she whistled: show tunes, popular music, hymns, marches. Her participation in two book groups over the last several years brought her much delight. She played card and light board games with a competitive gleam in her eye, and never passed up a round of miniature golf. Jeanne liked to focus on the beauty of life, taking pleasure in the changing seasons, garden flowers, butterflies, rainbows, and the trees arching over her back porch. Perhaps her favorite moments were spent watching the sun rise over Atlantic Ocean beaches or crowing over her luck to spot dolphins in the distant surf.

She is survived by her husband, Scott Reilly; daughter Erin Reilly-Sanders and granddaughter Elora Reilly-Sanders of Columbus, OH; daughter Andrea Reilly of Breckenridge, CO; and older brother George Holets of Ithaca, NY.

Plans for a memorial service await resolution of the current health emergency. The family is forever grateful for those who donate blood and platelets. Those contributions helped sustain Jeanne’s life for the last, treasured year. In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to make contributions to the Carter Center. One of Jeanne’s favorite charities, the Carter Center works for human rights and alleviating human suffering, a fitting memorial for a well-loved woman who cared deeply about all those around her.