Jean Elizabeth Whitney died on September 8, 2018, in Seattle. A lifelong Washington resident, she was born May 9, 1936, in Port Orchard to Harold Hanson Lundberg and Lucy Keithahn Lundberg. She lost her only sibling Marie to childhood leukemia at age 5.
Jean received her education degree from Central Washington University in Ellensburg, where she met and married the love of her life, Weston Dale Whitney. Jean and Wes settled in Moses Lake and later in Bellevue, where they both taught school and were charter members at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church. They also raised their three sons, into whom they put their all: David, Dale, and Steven. They spent their summers at their second home in Seabeck on Hood Canal with their boys, and after Wes retired, Jean taught first grade in Issaquah and commuted to Seabeck on the weekends to tend their oyster farm and spend time with her husband until she retired.
After Wes died in 2004, Jean settled in Belfair. She spent her later years helping others, something for which she was always known, as well as reading and gardening. She volunteered at her church (North Mason United Methodist Church in Belfair) and as a reading tutor for immigrants learning English. She spent time with her local family and traveled to Alaska whenever she could to visit two of her sons and their families, and volunteered in her grandsons’ classrooms.
Jean was preceded in death by her parents, sister Marie Lundberg, and husband Wes Whitney. She is survived by and loved by many, including her sons and their partners: David and Gretchen Whitney of Edmonds; Dale Whitney and Christine Hess of Juneau, Alaska; and Steve and Sara Whitney of Juneau. She is survived by grandchildren Erik Whitney of Portland, Madeline Hess-Maple of Seattle, Adrian Whitney of Juneau, and James Whitney of Juneau and Granville, Ohio; brothers-in-law Larry Whitney of Bigfork, Mont., and Carl Schmidt of Bothell and their wives Mary and Linda; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
A tireless advocate for those she loved and the world she lived in, Jean was the most loyal mom, mother-in-law, grandma, and friend we all could have hoped for and we will miss her presence for the rest of our lives.
Arrangements were handled by Tuell-McKee Funeral Home in Bremerton. Services will be held Sat., Nov. 10, at 2 p.m. at North Mason United Methodist Church in Belfair.
