Jeannette Anna Lelie Folsom

Jeannette was born on August 21, 1937, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to Herman Louis Lelie and Bella Lelie (née Vandenberg).

As a young child, Jeannette immigrated with her family from Amsterdam to the United States as they recognized the growing danger facing Jewish families in Europe. They settled in Los Angeles, where she grew up with her sister, Rosa, and brother, Arthur, in Beverly Hills.

Jeannette's family made the difficult decision to leave the Netherlands before the Holocaust. Sadly, many relatives who remained behind did not survive the war years. While Jeannette never forgot where she came from and her lost relatives, she loved her adopted country and was proud to become a United States citizen. Even though she was considered a citizen as the daughter of naturalized parents, she chose to become a naturalized United States citizen as an adult, a milestone that meant a great deal to her throughout her life.

Jeannette spent most of her career as a Registered Nurse and cared for newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Los Angeles County General Hospital. She also spent several years in New York, teaching at NYU Medical Center before eventually returning to Los Angeles. She was a skilled painter, enjoyed playing tennis, swimming, and even sold real estate for a short time.

In 1984, she married LeRoi "Duke" Folsom, chef, author, educator, and Executive Vice President of The Culinary Institute of America. They shared 26 years together until Duke's death in 2010. Later, she married Donald C. Kuhre, who spent his career with General Electric, and enjoyed many happy years with him in Naples until his passing in 2025.

Jeannette was perceptive, thoughtful, and remarkably attentive to the people around her. She remembered the little things such as a favorite drink, a story told years earlier, or exactly what was going on in someone's life. She had a way of making people feel seen, remembered, and comfortable.

She loved a good game of Bridge, enjoyed lively conversation, and had a quick wit that family and friends loved. She was fun to be around, sharp-minded, and always interested in what was going on in the world and in the lives of the people she cared about.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Herman and Bella Lelie; her brother, Arthur Lelie; her sister, Rosa Krause; her husband, Duke Folsom; and her husband, Donald Kuhre.

She is survived by her stepchildren, A.J. Folsom, Fr. Cassian Folsom, Maria Gilmour, Marguerite Sadowski, Leah Sanderson, David S. Kuhre and his wife Lila, Alan N. Kuhre, Karen M. Sesso and her husband Joe, and Gary R. Kuhre; 9 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and her nieces and nephews, Andrew Krause, Anita Krause, Tamara Skinner, Leah Webster, Judy Ferguson, Herman Lelie, and David Lelie, along with many great-nieces, great-nephews, extended family members, and friends.

While family mattered enormously to Jeannette, so did friends. She built lifelong friendships and stayed closely connected to the people she cared about. Whether it was a lunch with friends, a Bridge game you hoped to be on her side of, or a tennis match in years past, Jeannette had a way of making ordinary days more enjoyable simply by being there. She knew how to enjoy life, and she made the people around her enjoy it too.

From Amsterdam to Beverly Hills, New York, Los Angeles, Roanoke, and finally Naples, Florida, Jeannette built a full life defined by family, friendship, and laughter.

A graveside Jewish service will be held on Thursday, June 18, at 10:00 a.m. at Naples Memorial Gardens, with burial immediately following.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of your choice.