Jean Pearson

November 23, 1924 - October 25, 2018

Jean Pearson, 93, of St. Joseph died Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018, at Caretel Inns of Lakeland, Royalton Township. Services celebrating her life will be at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 2, at Saron Lutheran Church in St. Joseph. Entombment will follow at North Shore Mausoleum. The family will receive friends and relatives from 5-8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, at the Fairplain Chapel of Florin Funeral Service in Benton Township. Memorials may be made to Saron Lutheran Church. Please share memories, messages or photos at www.florin.net. Jean was born Nov. 23, 1924, in Benton Harbor along with her twin brother Albert, to Albert R. and Ella Anderson. She grew up in Benton Harbor and in Joliet, Ill., and graduated from Benton Harbor High School with her twin brother in 1943. Jean relished recounting her early twenties. In those years she worked as a supervisor for Michigan Bell Telephone, placing and monitoring calls between World War II servicemen and their families. She also enjoyed taking flying lessons, taking care to fly near the shore of Lake Michigan should an emergency landing be needed. Jean took the train to Chicago each Monday for piano lessons as well, enjoying dinner at the Palmer House before her return trip. Jean married her husband, Burton Pearson, in 1949. Burt, who preceded her in death in 2016, was the president of Pearson Construction Company and oversaw the construction of many of the buildings we see in Southwest Michigan. Burt and Jean would regularly be seen enjoying dinner together at one of our local restaurants. Together they celebrated 66 years of marriage. Jean enjoyed taking organ lessons in the 1960s, tending to her yard, and relaxing at the beach or pool. Jean was an avid knitter, making everything from baby blankets and clothes to sweaters and coats. She especially enjoyed spending afternoons sharing her hobby with her good friends at the knit shop. Jean’s family includes her daughter, Christine (Roger) Petzke; her son, Burton (Margaret) Pearson; her six grandchildren: Lars (Elizabeth) Petzke, Nils Petzke, Anna Pearson, Linnea (Robert III) Walmsley, Britta Pearson and Greta Pearson; her six great-grandchildren: Carter, Wyatt, and Lilliana Petzke, Lucas and Finley Petzke, and Mack Walmsley; her sister-in-law, Betty Anderson, and several nieces and nephews. Jean was preceded in death by her twin brother, Albert; her sister, Grace Reddel Abarr; and her grandson, Frans Petzke.