GESELL, Jean 1917-2008

GESELL, WILLOUGHBY

Posted By: Tammy (email)
Date: 12/8/2010 at 18:12:37

Jean Sarah Gesell, 91, died peacefully at the home of her daughter in Columbus, Ohio, on December 5, 2008. Interment will be in Grundy Center, at a later date.

Born September 27, 1917 in Grundy Center, of parents Hugh and Clara Willoughby, she attended the University of Northern Iowa and graduated from Northwestern University. She worked as an interior decorator in Cedar Rapids and married Robert Charles Gesell in 1940. Their adventures began when he became a career officer in 1941 and later an employee of Goodyear International. Together they made more than 20 moves and lived 15 years outside the United States. They retired to a farm in Grundy Center to raise horses and eventually relocated to Mesa, Ariz. Jean Gesell supported many humanitarian projects both at home and abroad and remained active in her church and PEO. She will always be remembered for her kindness and hospitality and will be sorely missed.

She is survived by siblings, Francis Smoldt of Grundy Center and Robert Willoughby of New Castle, N.H.; and daughter and son-in-law, Barbara and Ronald Hupman of Columbus, Ohio.

She was preceded in death by her husband; her brother, Bliss Willoughby.