Jean was born on November 17, 1940 in Oklahoma City. She was the only child of Vernon and Dorothy Downing. You could tell she was an only- child by the way she never hesitated to voice her needs with absolute confidence. From an early age, Jean gravitated to art, pottery, and animals. Those passions remained a part of her identity throughout her entire life. She has always been interested in making the world a more beautiful place.
Jean graduated from Harding High School and then attended Oklahoma University where she was a Delta Gamma and met the love of her life, Don Ed. Jean and Don Ed fell in love immediately, and married less than a year after meeting. From that point on, everything they did, they did together. Vernon, Jean’s father, introduced Don Ed to the homebuilding business in 1960. Jean and Don Ed were an incredible team and used his building skills and her incredible eye to create some of the most timeless and beautiful homes in Edmond and Oklahoma City over the next seven decades. Don Ed said there hasn’t been a single home he has built that Jean hasn’t been a huge part of. They often became good friends with their clients, and once they caught on to what incredible taste Jean had, it wasn’t rare for the homebuyers to ask Jean to help them decorate their finished home.
They brought their first daughter, Dedee Bliss Blaik, home in 1964. They had their second daughter, Amy Lee Hammons, in 1967. When their oldest daughter was around eight years old, she took a great interest in riding horses. It was then that JJ discovered a new lifelong love of hers, showing and riding quarter horses.
Jean had a sea of lifelong friends and fans, and will forever be remembered for her creativity, talents, beauty, hilarious sense of humor, love of horses, and amazing style. She was the most energetic, youthful “old woman” you ever had the pleasure of meeting. If you were spending time with Jean, you were having fun. Her legacy is to find what you love, cultivate it, and let it keep you young even when you’re supposed to be “old”. Jean’s presence will be so deeply missed by all that knew and loved her.
Jean is survived by her husband, Don Ed Roberts. Their two daughters, Dedee Bliss Blaik (Bob) and Amy Lee Hammons (Robert). Their grandchildren, Amanda Pendarvis Lacy (Michael), Robert (Bo) Earl Blaik, Blaik Hammons Rice (Palmer), Brian Downing Blaik, and their great-grandson, Waylon James Lacy.
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