Jeanette Marie Pillen

February 23, 1939 – April 29, 2023 (84 yrs)

Jeanette was the eldest daughter born to John and Antonetta (Morelli) Turrin. She was born and raised in the Mount Hope neighborhood of San Diego. Jan and her younger sister Barbara were raised by loving parents, Antonetta who had immigrated as a child from Cevio, Switzerland and Johnny, a first-generation Italian-American who moved to San Diego from Somers, Connecticut and had developed a severe case of polio.

Jan attended Regina Caeli Academy for a Catholic school education and went to St Rita Catholic Church. She went on to take classes at San Diego State University with thoughts of being a teacher. She then moved on to get her cosmetologist license and spent a brief time as a hairdresser. She ended up working at Sears Roebuck & Co and enjoyed making some lifelong friends.

She met Roger at a dance club and later pretended to be his fiancé to be by his side when he was severely injured in a motorcycle accident. They were married in 1967 at the Wedding Bell Chapel in San Diego and they lived in the San Carlos neighborhood of San Diego.

As a child, she loved playing with dolls and always longed to be a mother. She was finally able to be a mom to Susan and was so happy. She stayed home to take care of Suzy and enjoyed helping at the school and in Suzy’s brownie troop when she was healthy. She loved being a grandmother to Amanda and Brett and hosted many sleep overs with the grandchildren.

She struggled with mental illness and was diagnosed with Manic Depression (aka Bipolar) shortly after becoming a mother. This illness led to long stretches of deep depression followed by short periods of mania. Roger was incredibly supportive, staying by her side and keeping the household going while she battled her illness. She continued to manage the illness throughout her life.

Family was very important to her. She came from a very close Swiss-Italian family and loved family reunions and cousin’s parties. She was most happy when she was with Roger & Suzy surrounded by her parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, sister, nieces, and nephew.

Her favorite activities were road trips, many weekends were spent in Ramona and Santa Ysabel to visit cousins. She also enjoyed family vacations in the camper with Roger and Suzy in the San Diego backcountry. Favorite road trip destinations included Seattle, the 4 corners, Colorado and Sitting Bull.

She made some delicious food; her spaghetti sauce remains to be one of the best, especially when served with homemade gnocchi and her fruit Jell-O and cherry cheesecake were regulars at family functions. She also had a soft spot for “collecting” and her favorite collections include Barbies and elephants with upturned trunks. Elvis was her favorite musician and she would light up when she heard any of his music.

Jan is survived by her daughter Susan (Levine), son-in-law Jeff Levine and grandchildren Amanda Levine and Brett Levine. She is also survived by her nephew Michael and nieces Peggy, Paula and Patty. She is preceded in death by her loving husband Roger Pillen, her best friend and sister Barbara O’Neal and her parents.

In lieu of flowers those wishing to honor her memory are encouraged to make a donation to Recovery International a mental health organization at recoveryinternational.com