Jean was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of the late Dr. Alexander Robert Vislay and Helen Gibbons Vislay. Jean attended Seton Hill College on a full scholarship and graduated in 1949, the same year her family moved to Southern California. She spent the next few years teaching at private schools in Switzerland and Japan after which she returned to the states and settled in Los Angeles where she taught elementary school. Jean received a Master’s in School Psychology from UCLA and spent the rest of her career as a school psychologist in the Los Angeles County school system.
Jean married her long-time companion and best friend, Harry Klein, in 1987. They were together for over 30 years and married for sixteen until he passed in 2000.
Jean was a voracious reader, a life-long traveler, a devotee of music, theatre, and the arts, as well as a joy to her many nieces and nephews who loved listening to her overseas tales and examining the various treasures she brought back. Jean was preceded in death by her brother, Robert Vislay, and her sister, Shirley Vislay. She is survived by another sister, Carole Vislay Viola, of Arcadia, CA., thirteen nieces and nephews, thirty-four great nieces and nephews, and seven great-great nieces and nephews.
Arrangements are being handled by Pierce Brothers Mortuary of Westwood Village, CA. There will be no visitation or services at this time. Jean will join her late husband with a burial at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA sometime early next year when it is safer for her family and friends to travel. Notes or messages to the family can be left at the Pierce Bros. website. In lieu of flowers, should friends or relatives choose to do so, donations can be made to a charity of their choice that supplies food to the hungry or to Alzheimer’s research.
A very special thank you to the El Mar residence of Mission Viejo and their excellent care, especially Arlene and Mario, and to Bertha Serrano and Anny Perez who helped Jean live at home for as long as she was able.
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