Jeanette was born to loving parents Helen Mabel Catlin and Henry Claus Beckman in Rolla, MO on February 9, 1929, and grew up with her sister Ruth Ann, whom she adored. Her brother Arthur died at a young age of scarlet fever. Jeanette had many fond memories of her early years in Rolla, making May Day flower baskets to deliver with her mother, canoeing on the Gasconade River with her dear friend Lucy, and walking into town for the movies, one of her favorites being Gone with the Wind. The Beckman family lived through the Depression and WWII, but mom always said that she had a wonderful childhood.
In a stroke of luck for us all, William Magill’s fraternity house at the Missouri School of Mines in Rolla was next door to the Beckman house, and Jeanette and Bill became acquainted. They dated while Jeanette was in high school and in college and they married in 1951. The two of them had an enduring love, witnessed by those who knew them, and by the many letters sent back and forth while Bill was in the service or, later, while traveling for business. Jeanette attended Rolla schools until departing to attend the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO in 1947, where she was a member of the Tri-Delta Sorority, from which she had life-long friends.
Jeanette and Bill had four children, William Henry Magill Jr. (Noreen), Robert Dale Magill (1955-1978), John Scott Magill (Suzy), and Ann Marie Magill Wooldridge (Timothy). The family moved to Geneva, Switzerland in 1961 for Bill’s job with Amoco Chemicals. They stayed until 1970 when Bill was transferred back to the main office in Chicago. Jeanette and Bill loved the European culture, customs, and cuisine. They learned to ski, taking the family to Verbier, Switzerland for holidays and Christmas every year.
Jeanette and Bill had a happy home in Lake Forest, IL where children and then grandchildren stayed and visited frequently. One of Jeanette’s biggest joys was her family and extended family, and it always showed in her sparkling eyes. She is survived by her three living children, ten grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Jeanette adored her friends from Deerfield School District, from Burr Oak Road, from the International Club, and from her French clubs. Their friendships lasted over the years. Jeanette’s extended Beckman and Magill families always remained close to her heart. She will be tremendously missed but long remembered by all those lucky enough to have been a part of her life.
A small memorial service was held in Colorado Springs, CO on November 1, 2020 and a service will take place at Cape Girardeau Memorial Park in 2021. Memorial gifts may be made in her name to Pikes Peak Hospice, 2500 Tenderfoot Hill Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80906, online at http://www.pikespeakhospice.org/, or to the Lake Forest International Club, attn: Treasurer Ellen Young, P.O. Box 489, Lake Forest, IL 60045.
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