Jeanne Clark Whetstone

Jeanne was born in Palo Alto, California to Donald Francis and Lucia Margaret (Stoffels) Clark. Her sister, Dot, was born two years later. After their father passed away when Jeanne was seven, the family moved to San Francisco, where she grew up. She loved going to the corner bakery, visiting the library, roller skating, sunning at the beach, and visiting downtown where “you always dressed up”. Being a Girl Scout and earning badges was a special memory for Jeanne. Growing up during the depression she was thankful when a neighbor would bring over a fish on Fridays for their supper. But her absolute favorite childhood memory was spending holidays and summers at her wonderful grandmother’s house on the Stanford campus. Mom would tell us stories of going to tea, riding bikes, playing Monopoly and tennis, and listening to her grandmother talk about the Clark family. Jeanne graduated from Lowell High School and then headed to Cal Berkeley where she joined Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and graduated with a degree in Political Science. She loved her Cal Bears and would go to the Big Game against Stanford year after year. “Go Bears!”

Jeanne met Stanley Whetstone at the Cal ski lodge on Donner Summit near Tahoe. They were married in Carmel-by-the-Sea and then lived in Berkeley while Stan finished up his doctorate. Their first daughter was born in Berkeley, but soon the family moved to Los Alamos, NM, where Stan worked at the lab as a physicist. Three more children were born in Los Alamos and Mom always said, “Oh those were the best years!” She loved staying home and raising her four children. We remember the soup and sandwiches waiting for us when we walked home for lunch. Mom played tennis with her group of ladies and she and Dad enjoyed nights out with their many friends. During those years, our family also lived in Seattle; Vienna, Austria, and Gaithersburg, Maryland, where Dad worked as a physicist. Jeanne found friends and activities where ever she lived and was often our scout leader. Jeanne later went back to college to earn her secondary teacher certification and spent many years tutoring kids in English at the high school in Los Alamos, where the family home was kept despite moving away many times.

In later years Jeanne lived in Ft. Collins where she was involved in tennis, garden club, symphony guild and book clubs. She was also a skier well into her eighties and took many trips to Europe, Australia, England, Scotland, Ireland, and all over the country. The family fondly remembers the many gatherings in her beloved house for birthdays, holidays or “just-because” when Mom would cook a delicious dinner which was enjoyed with conversation and laughter. Above all, Mom loved her family and the times we spent together.

Jeanne enjoyed talking to people and knew no stranger. She had a dry wit, which was surely inherited from her Irish grandmother. She was very proud of being Irish and celebrated St. Patrick’s Day each year with corn beef and cabbage accompanied by Irish tunes and a little Bailey’s in the coffee. In fact, Jeanne loved all holidays and would prepare meals and desserts for each one. She never forgot anyone’s birthday and made sure to send cards to everyone. When she wasn’t playing tennis or tending her garden, Jeanne loved puttering around her kitchen cooking and baking such treats as cinnamon rolls, thief boy rolls, cookies, green tomato relish, strawberry jam, and casseroles. She collected recipes and was always willing to try out new ones. In the afternoon Jeanne enjoyed tea and cookies, which we would often serve after family dinners as well.

Jeanne’s favorite books to read were historical fiction and biographies, especially enjoying anything about American history and the Founding Fathers. She loved going to any new museum exhibit which came to Denver and, when living in Europe, she always wanted to visit as many castles, palaces and museums as possible. Reading her newspaper and watching the evening news were daily habits and she also followed Pac-12 football and March Madness basketball. Jeanne loved to discuss politics because she was interested in government affairs, but not everyone enjoyed the topics as much as she did! She always said it didn’t matter; they could be friends anyway.

Mom was filled with a delightful “joie de vivre” with such enthusiasm for life and love for our family. She was a wonderful mother, grandmother and friend and will be missed very much!

The following is an excerpt from a poem by Amanda Bradley which Mom would often quote in her cards to us: “How fortunate we are when we have relatives who love us; It makes the world a happy place to be. Few gifts in life will last as long or touch the heart as deeply as the very special gift of family!”

Jeanne is survived and missed by her four children, Karin Culter (Dave) Greeley, Kirsten Whetstone (Rich Bullough) Park City, Utah, Sally Stokes, Johnstown, and Steven Whetstone (Karen) Mill Valley, CA; also missing their dear “Jeannie” are grandchildren, Sarah Johnson (Aaron) Denver, Daniel Culter (Kitty) Cheyenne, WY, Sean Stokes, Cedar Rapids, IA, Connor Stokes (Brittany) Knoxville, TN, Ryan Stokes, Honolulu, Garrett Bullough (Natalie) Seattle, Kellen Whetstone and Kirsten Whetstone, Mill Valley and great-grands, Quinn and Carver Johnson, Weston and Bridger Culter, and Cayden and Emmy Stokes. Also, Stan Whetstone, sister-in-law, Janice Troxler, Bradenton, FL, nieces and nephews, Geoff (Diane) Simonson, Warrenton, VA, Kimberly Hammond (David), Springfield, OR, Rennie (Scott) Cole, Riverview, FL, Genevra Simonson, Bradenton, FL and Jesse Couch. Passing before were her parents, sister, Dot, sister-in-law, Molly Couch, and nephew Jonathan Couch.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Jeanne's greatest wish would be to love your family, mend any hard feelings and enjoy life every day! Please visit www.resthavencolorado.com for photos and to share memories and condolences.