Obituary: Jean Lennon Carty

Jean Lennon Carty

Jean Lennon Carty

Jean Lennon Carty was born in Detroit, Michigan, on July 10, 1922, and passed away on July 11, 2018. She was the daughter of Henrietta and Harvey Lennon. When she was a teenager, the family moved up to the thumb area of Michigan, where Jean finished high school.

In 1941, came the attack on Pearl Harbor that changed everyone’s life forever. A feminist before her time, she joined the WAC (The Women’s Army Corp) in 1944. She is featured in the Women’s

War Memorial in Washington, D,C.

In July of 1945, she and her Navy fighter pilot fiancé, Charles Carty, were married in Michigan and returned to their duty stations following the ceremony. She returned to an Air Force base in Manchester, New Hampshire, recording the weather via teletype for the remainder of the war.

After the war, she and Chuck returned home to Detroit, Michigan, and Chuck went to Commercial Art School and later worked as an industrial design engineer for Ford Motor Company. Jean loved being a stay-at-home mom and was active in church and school activities. When her children were teenagers, she went back to work at a local hospital, where she was in charge of a teaching clinic.

Jean lived by her mantra, “Friends are like flowers in the garden of life,” and had many friends of all ages, all over the country. Jean was a prolific letter-writer and some years wrote as many as 300 letters. She was a person of faith who loved gospel music and Classic Country. She enjoyed learning new technology, including Facebook to keep in touch with her friends. Jean never met a stranger and enjoyed talking to new people and traveling to new places. She and Chuck traveled extensively throughout their marriage.

Her husband, Chuck, and her youngest daughter, Barbara, precede her in death. She leaves behind a daughter, Jan Bryan of Prescott Arizona, and a son, Joel Carty and wife Tris of Corrales, New Mexico. She adored her five loving grandchildren: Lisa, Ariel, Jett, Ford and Vaughn.

Her favorite saying was “Life is what you make it and people are about as happy as they choose to be.” Jean chose to be happy and enjoyed her friends and family very much.

The family is very grateful to the Prescott Veterans Hospital for the excellent care Jean received in her last years. Her team doctor and nurses were kind, caring, skilled and professional as was every department — from her medical team to the CLC/hospice unit.

A big thank you to the fine professionals at the Prescott VA Hospital.

Jean would appreciate in lieu of flowers a contribution to a veterans organization in your local community. Please don’t forget the homeless vets and others who need help.

Memorial services: Saturday, July 21, at 11 am: United Methodist Church, 505 W. Gurley St,, Prescott, Arizona, 86301. Refreshments to follow at the family home Friday, Aug. 3: A morning service (to be confirmed) at Sombra Del Monte Christian Church, 2525 Vermont St. NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87110. Santa Fe, New Mexico, National Cemetery (Charles & Jean interred): 1:30 p.m., service with Honor Guard Arrangements entrusted to Ruffner-Wakelin Funeral Homes and Crematory. Please sign the online Guestbook at www.ruffnerwakelin.com

Information provided by survivors.


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