Plan for the Future
JEANNE SWEENEY NELSON, 98, of Stuart, Florida, died at home on November 25, 2019. Jeanne was born in Bayonne, New Jersey and held a life long (and not totally unfounded) belief that every family is originally from Bayonne. Jeanne lived in Anchorage, Elizabeth, Belmar, and Chatham before moving to Florida in 2012.
Jeanne was a favorite aunt, a loving grandmother, an admired and adored friend to many, and a wonderful, gracious mother, brightening the days of the people around her with a quick chat over a cup of hot coffee. Always ready with a story or joke, Jeanne was the life of every room she entered. She graduated from Bayonne High School and Chestnut Hill College in Pennsylvania. “Sween” to her classmates, Jeanne was always ready for an adventure whether it was driving from Watch Hill to Philadelphia during the Great New England Hurricane or just eating toast with her friends in the dining hall. Jeanne worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and as a teacher in the Bayonne Public School System. Always the adventurer, Jeanne traveled solo with a two-year-old from New Jersey to Alaska to join Charles who was stationed in Anchorage.
Jeanne’s favorite job was being a mother and grandmother. She was an ever-present source of comfort, strength, and joy to her children. To her grandchildren, Jeanne was a teacher, comedian, storyteller, safety blanket, and diabolical tactician. She also made the greatest peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the world.
Jeanne loved being around people and this love fueled her life long activity in communities and causes that were important to her. She was a member of the Rosary Society at St. Genevieve’s Church and St. Rose’s Church as well as the Chestnut Hill College Alumnae Association, Roselle Golf Club, and Belmar Fishing Club.
Jeanne was predeceased by her beloved husband, Charles; her parents, Edward and Katherine Sweeney; and her brother Edward Sweeney and sisters Miriam Wilcox and Claire Regan. She is survived by two daughters, Beth Nelson (Will Romero) of Chatham and Danielle Nelson Adams of Stuart, FL; two sons, Charles A. of North Bergen (Glenda Burias Altamuro) and Edward S. (Teresa Lane) of Basking Ridge; and six grandchildren, Julia, James, and Ben Romero, and Emma, Sadie, and Rosalie Nelson.
A Funeral Mass will be offered at 11 am on Saturday, January 4, 2020 at Corpus Christi Church in Chatham. Those who wish may donate in her memory to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org or Alzheimer’s Association 225 N. Michigan Ave. Floor 17, Chicago, Il 60601.