Jean Ann Sisson

Jean Ann Sisson (Holschlag) passed away peacefully on August 18, 2020, in Santa Clarita, CA. Jean was born on October 6, 1939, in New Hampton, Iowa, to Cyril and Alice (Gustafson) Holschlag. Jean attended St. Mary's Catholic School and graduated from New Hampton High School in 1957. While in high school, she was involved in extracurricular activities and had a very active social life. After high school, she had various jobs, including working for a professional photographer and a veterinarian. In 1958 she met Bill Sisson, and they were married on November 7, 1959. For their honeymoon, they set out on a great adventure, traveling by car, to California, and made their first trip to Disneyland. Of course, Jean was fascinated by Disneyland, but Bill…not so much. They fell in love with CA and decided to stay and make a home here. They moved into an apartment in Panorama City, and Jean took in ironing to help pay the rent while Bill went to work for General Motors in Van Nuys. Money was tight, but she saved her change every week, and they looked forward to Friday nights when they would sit on the steps of the apartment building and enjoy their pint of beer with their many friends they made while living there. They would start their family, and by the time they left and moved to Saugus, they had three children. After diligently saving their money, they were able to buy their first home on Elias St in Saugus in 1964. Jean had an artistic eye and began decorating the home with all of the latest home furnishings. She always had a beautifully decorated home. When Cindy and Steve started school, she decided she wanted to have a career, so she hit the pavement and began ringing doorbells as an Avon lady. With Lisa in tow, she went door to door to peddle her lipsticks and perfumes and had much success. She loved the job and made many friends and became well known in the neighborhood. A few years after ringing doorbells, Jean decided she wanted a more serious career, so she went to work, as a secretary, for an insurance agent in Newhall. She soon left that and went to work at Hart High school in 1970, and that's when her career with the Wm S Hart School District started. In 1972 she transferred to Canyon High School, where she was first the attendance lady and eventually became the dean's secretary. While at Canyon High, she made many lifelong friendships with her co-workers. She loved working at Canyon and became very close to many of the students and, with her sense of humor and kind ways, she had an impact on many of the students. In 1977, after diligently studying for four years, she received an AA degree from COC. Now mind you, this wasn't an easy task as she was working full time and raising three rambunctious children. But this was important to her, as she always wanted to go to college, so she persevered. Besides her children, she would say this was her greatest accomplishment. Jean loved to paint and sew and was very crafty. When her children were little, she made all of their clothes, and they never had a store-bought Halloween costume. Tole painting was her specialty, and she would paint anything she could get her hands on, including wood pieces, old floorboards, old ice skates, saw blades. You name it…she painted it. The family joked that if you sat in one spot long enough, she just might paint you. Jean and Bill had many friends and loved camping and boating with their same group of friends for many years. Pine Flats was a favorite place to go for long weekends. Jean retired from CHS in 1996, and, in retirement, she and Bill traveled to many places in their motorhome. After Bill passed, she eventually went back to work and worked at the Saugus Union School District for a few years. In addition to painting and crafting, Jean was an avid reader. She always liked to say that she didn't just read books, she devoured them. She also enjoyed spending countless hours with her grandchildren, who meant the world to her. For the grandkids, sleepovers with grandma were better than going to camp. Sleepovers meant her famous French toast, lots of crafts, and if you were really lucky, her famous fried chicken. Jean had a great sense of humor and a wicked quick wit and was always ready with a comeback. Not much got past her.

Jean is survived by her children Cindy Sisson, Steven Sisson (Valerie), and Elisa Decker (Steve). Her grandchildren JT Barosh (Jessica), Karli Amos (Ryan) Aron, Drew, Mykelti, and Tafton. Her great-granddaughters Olivia Amos and Wednesday Barosh. In addition, she is survived by her brothers John Holschlag (R’Lene) and Dennis Holschlag and numerous cousins throughout California and Iowa.

Jean was many things to many people. She was a daughter, wife, best friend, a co-worker, a good listener. She had many nicknames. Jean Jean the Dancing Machine and Jean the Freezer Queen, to name a few. Because of her midwest ties, she was one of those people you could call the salt of the earth but, to her family, she was simply mom and grandma. And our family feels so fortunate and blessed that she chose us. She will be truly missed by all!

Please consider making a donation in Jean's name to one of the foundations below.