Jean Elaine Kinsman, 97

Jean Kinsman of Kalispell passed away on July 23, 2017, in Brendan House.

Jean Elaine White was born March 18, 1920, in Black Eagle, Montana, on a homestead on the Teton River, the daughter of Earl Peregrin White and Alice Sylvester (Williams) White. She spent her younger days on a farm in the Bitterroot and graduated from Darby High School in 1938.

She married Chester Heath and later had a son, Norman Edward, on Flag Day, 1941. Years later, after divorce, she married Arthur Jensen Jr. of Superior. They had a daughter, Deborah Lynn Jensen, in 1949. After Art’s death, Jean married Edward J. Kinsman on June 18, 1959.

Jean was preceded in death by her parents, her son Norman, and many other family members.

She is survived by her husband Ed, and daughter Debbie and son-in-law Dan Mason; granddaughters, Jill Mason, Jenae Mason, and Jodi-Lee and her husband Jason DeMott; and four great-grandchildren, Kaylen and Kolton, and Berkeley Jean and Braelynn; her niece Gwen and husband Jack Meskimen; and many other wonderful friends and relatives.

Jean had four brothers, Harry, Kenneth, Ernest and Alan, and two sisters, Virginia and Josephine. Josephine Cruson survives Jean in Oregon.

Jean loved to sew and made beautiful clothes for her sister, her daughter, her grandchildren and many gifts for her friends. She enjoyed family get-togethers with the camp-outs, delicious food and sing-a-longs around the bonfire.

She and her husband Ed and friends traveled in their camper to lots of their favorite places such as Glacier Park, Yellowstone, Banff, Alaska and others. They always had a garden and canned and froze everything they could. She was a ferocious weed puller and had beautiful flower gardens. Jean loved playing cards and games and would stay up all hours of the night to win.

In the early years Jean was the Mineral County treasurer in Superior and at one time owned a hamburger stand called Pop’s In-and-Out. She also worked for the Mineral Independent newspaper.

Jean’s wit and personality made all around her enjoy life a lot more.

Jean said last week, “I have lived a long and happy life. I always had a garden to harvest, calendar full of camping dates, fish to catch and friends to celebrate happy hour.”

Jean is forever in our hearts and memories.

A celebration of life will be scheduled at a later time.