Jean Weidner

CHARLESTON - Jean Dionne (Rockwell) Weidner, 81, formerly of Charleston passed away on October 11, 2017.

Visitation will be 10-11 a.m. Saturday, October 21, 2017 at the Harper-Swickard Funeral Home, with a memorial service to follow at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Charleston Food Pantry.

Jean was born on February 20, 1936, in Broken Bow, Nebraska. She was the eldest of three children of Melvin and Ruby (Olson) Rockwell. Upon graduating from high school, she moved to Hastings, NE, where she attended Hastings College. There, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, before continuing her education at the Mary Lanning Hospital School of Nursing, also in Hastings.

In 1962, while working as a nurse and serving as a member of the teaching faculty at Bryan Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Lincoln, NE, Jean met Robert W. "Bob" Weidner. They were married on August 14 of that year in Broken Bow. After a few years in Dubuque, IA, Jean and Bob relocated to Charleston in 1965. Beginning in the 1970s until the mid-2000s, Jean worked as a RN for several different organizations, including the Lincolnland Visiting Nurse Association (including a stint as its director), the Eastern Illinois University Health Service and the McKinley Health Center at the University of Illinois in Urbana. In these latter two positions, Jean enjoyed interacting with multiple generations of college students.

She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother who loved to bake, sew, travel, entertain, and attend plays and other cultural events. She maintained an active social calendar. Any given evening may have found her playing bridge, at a dinner party, participating in a book or reading group, attending a PEO function, or contributing to a play produced by Charleston's drama club. In her later years, she also enjoyed being a pen pal to several different students at Carl Sandburg elementary school. In December 2013, Jean relocated to Norridge, IL, where she resided at an assisted living center located minutes from her daughter, Diane. There, she quickly won over staff and residents with her typical poise, generous spirit, and good humor. Even as her health began to wax and wane over the past year, she continued to cheer others with her kind words, positive outlook, and ready smile.

Jean will be remembered as kind and compassionate – a good neighbor and dear friend who was always willing to assist and support those in need. She was also a dedicated and skilled nurse; to be in her care was to be in good hands. She was preceded in death by Bob, her husband of 51 years, in 2013. She is survived by her siblings, Joanne (Christian) Johannsen of West Lafayette, IN, and Daniel (Melody) Rockwell of Cedar Rapids, IA; two children, Diane Weidner (Mark Nagy) of Chicago, and Robert R. Weidner (Jennifer Schultz) of Duluth, MN; and two grandsons, Otis and Lewis Weidner.