Jean (Hare) Beattie

Jean Beattie, 85 years old, passed away peacefully on September 9, 2020 with family by her side.   Jean was loved as a mother to 6 children (the “Beattie Bunch”), grandmother, sister, friend, confidant, writer, traveler/adventurer, and devoted Catholic.  Although her body finally allowed her to join her daughter Kathy in heaven, her mind, quick wit and deep and loyal love remained strong until her last breath.  

Jean was born in Wilmington, Delaware, and was a loyal Delaware resident her entire life.  As an Alexis I Dupont High School graduate, she was chosen as the “Harvest Queen” her senior year, and began her adventures as a wife and mother, as well as being quite prominent on the local stage in a variety of plays.   After raising her six children – 3 boys and 3 girls, she began her career outside the home, working at Continental Life and then later at the Ashland Nature Center in Yorklyn.

An avid writer, Jean was published in the News Journal and other papers on topics ranging from high school proms to mailbox vandalism, to “Cows without the Moo”.  In addition to taking formal creative writing classes, she demonstrated her creative side through community theater.   Loving to be called “Jeannie”, “Grammy” or “Mom”, she maintained a strongly competitive spirit when it came to playing Scrabble, and remained a merciless foe when it came to family play.   Her focus on experiences for her six children, ranging from museum visits to science expositions, instilled a sense of creativity and curiosity in the next generation.  Jean also enjoyed traveling the world with her sister, at times worrying her children with stories of missing trains in Paris to return to home base in Belgium, due to having lost track of time and having fun.

Jean is predeceased by her eldest daughter, Kathy, and survived by her five children and their spouses:  Mike and Peggy, Mary (Luca) and John, Steve and Kim, Chris and Sherri, and Carolyn (Phinney) and Jimmy; as well as her twelve grandchildren; and her two beloved sisters:  Betty Newell and Susan Seward.

Family and friends are invited to visit from 10:00am – 11:00am on Wednesday, September 16, 2020, at the Doherty Funeral Home, 3200 Limestone Road, Wilmington, DE 19808. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:30am at Resurrection Parish, 3000 Videre Drive, Wilmington, DE 19808. Interment will be held privately with Jean’s family.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Jean’s memory can be made to the Ashland Nature Center, PO Box 700, Hockessin, DE 19707.

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