Jean E. Willis

Jean E. Willis, 89, one of our community’s great educators and longtime resident of Keene, NH, passed away peacefully on February 12, 2018, at the Cheshire Medical Center / Dartmouth Hitchcock, Keene, with her children at her side.

Jean was born on December 6, 1928, to Arthur D. and Helen (Gregory) Mulvaney in Lewiston, Maine.

She moved to Keene at the age of two and attended local schools, graduating salutatorian of the Class of 1946. While at Keene High School, Jean starred in several plays, sang in the a cappella choir, and was the drum majorette. Jean then attended Connecticut College for Women, from which she graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in French and Spanish.

1950 proved to be a banner year for Jean. Upon graduating from college, she returned to Keene and that summer was crowned Miss Keene. In the fall, she embarked upon what was to become a lengthy and very satisfying teaching career. On December 23rd she married the love of her life—Edward C. Willis, with whom she would spend the next 50 years—in a beautiful Christmas-themed wedding at St. Bernard’s Church in Keene.

Jean’s teaching career spanned almost 30 years. She taught French, Spanish, and English at Troy HS, Keene HS, Walpole HS, Fall Mountain Regional HS, and Monadnock Regional HS. Jean was respected and admired by her students and colleagues alike, and formed life-long friendships with many of them. Following her retirement from teaching, Jean worked with Acre Reality and later with the Masiello Group as a realtor. She particularly enjoyed helping young, first-time home buyers, many of whom were her children’s friends, find homes.

Since both her father and her husband were great athletes and coaches, it’s not surprising that Jean was an avid sports enthusiast. In addition to the joy and pride in watching her children participate in their various sporting events throughout the years, Jean was also a rabid Celtics and Red Sox fan.

She loved to explore the world and was fortunate enough to travel abroad many times with groups of her students, her colleagues, the bridge ladies, and her daughter, Bonnie. She and Ed also spent time on Longboat Key, Florida and visited Bonnie in Miami regularly. No summer was complete without a trip to the Maine coast with her son, Scott.

Jean enjoyed spending time with her son, Andy, and daughter-in-law, Kathy, talking politics on both the local and national level. She was especially pleased to see her grandchildren, Colleen and Dan, pursue their passions for political science and computer science at Keene State College.

Jean loved her family, her friends, her children’s friends, cats, teaching, learning, reading, playing bridge, discussing politics, arguing, laughing hard, summer, the coast of Maine, Spain, the Bee Gees, red lipstick, a good cheeseburger, and pie. She disliked widowhood, willful ignorance, mean-spiritedness, and vegetables.

Many in the community will miss her dry sense of humor, her kindness, and her charm. This is especially true for her children, Scott G. Willis of Brattleboro, VT, Bonnie J. Willis of Lakeland, FL, Andrew A. Willis and his wife, Kathleen O’Donnell, of Keene; her two grandchildren, Colleen Willis and Daniel Willis, both of Keene; and numerous nieces and nephews in Massachusetts.

Jean’s family would like to thank Susan Robbins, Mark Richards, and the staff at Keene Center, Maplewood Nursing Home, and the Cheshire Medical Center for providing excellent care and support to Jean in her declining years.

A celebration of Jean’s life will be held on Saturday, June 16, 2018, at 1:00 p.m. at Solar Hill, 229 Western Avenue, Brattleboro, Vermont. Burial in the Monadnock View Cemetery, Keene, will be private.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Mrs. Willis’ memory to the Monadnock Humane Society, 101 West Swanzey Road, Swanzey, NH 03446.