Louise Jeanette Wilson-Malcolm

She graduated from Mt. Lebanon High School in Pittsburgh, and followed her father’s legacy and graduated from Western Maryland University with a degree in Early Childhood Education. She began a career as a teacher in the HeadStart program in the Hill District of Pittsburgh. She (and her family) began to learn sign language and she started completed graduate program in Deaf Education at the University of Pittsburgh. She obtained a Master of Arts and we all moved to Texas and she began her career at the School for the Deaf. She began in the early childhood program teaching babies and eventually moved through to teaching at the high school. She loved each and every one of her students. Every student was given the opportunity to succeed with his or her unique skills. The rewards in her treasure chest were legendary and engendered the very best behavior possible. Every summer she scoured the stores for toys and decorations for her classroom and the family loved to help her set it up every year.

Throughout her life, she was an avid animal lover and always had a menagerie of pets in the household. She became enamored with greyhounds, fostering and adopting many through Greyhound Pets of America and other organizations. Many of her weekends were spent taking dogs to meet potential adoptees, showing off her beautiful companion dogs, and volunteering. I am confident the rainbow bridge was full of friends waiting for her.

Upon her retirement, she wanted to continue to serve her community and determined to do just that by volunteering with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office in Victim’s Services. She used her experience with children to help young victims and witnesses of violent crimes. She also provided interpretation for those in Deaf community who needed to interact with the Sheriff or the DA’s Office. After her hip replacements and a pulmonary embolism, her mobility became more challenging; making on-site assistance calls nearly impossible. She still wanted to serve and began to teach Adult Literacy and GED preparation at the Georgetown Library. She continued that work until her health began to fail.

She saw so many changes in the world between 1942 and 2021, and embraced them with grace and humor. She read multiple books every week using her tablet and the seemingly endless digital library. She loved to stay connected to her friends on Facebook and IG. She found many of her former students there and joyfully reconnected with many of them. She played Words with Friends every day. We celebrated her 75th birthday at the historic Williamson County Courthouse and she enjoyed visiting with everyone who attended.

She began to suffer the effects of ovarian cancer and congestive heart failure and finally lost mobility. Her last few months were spent in the loving care of Heart to Heart Hospice. Mom kept in touch with everyone through text, phone, and Facebook. Although COVID made visitation challenging, we had window visits at least once a week.

At her request, there will be no services. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to HELP Crisis Assistance of Williamson County or a donation to your local library or animal shelter in her memory. To share condolences online, visit Jean's Facebook page or her obituary page at Weed-Corley-Fish/Leander. Her family (blood and chosen) hopes you all find happy memories of your time with Jean, and that she inspires you to volunteer in your community using your own unique skills and gifts. God bless.