Jean C. MacAlpine, 76, passed away quietly on August 3, 2021 at her home in Sherrill surrounded by the love of her family. For 18 months she fought the good fight against brain cancer.
She was born in Beckley, WV on December 11, 1944 to Wilburt and Geraldine Crisp. She grew up in Richmond, IN where she graduated from high school in 1963. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Ball State University in 1967, and her Master of Library Science degree from Syracuse University in 1984. She was a librarian in both the Canastota and Oneida school districts before becoming the librarian in Clinton Elementary School for seventeen years, retiring from there in 2001. She worked part time for the Oneida Public Library for over thirty years and took great pride in being their Story Lady and initiating the first Christmas Story Hour.
She met her husband, Rich, at her very first job out of college at Northeastern Wayne High School in Fountain City IN. They were married at the First Baptist Church in Richmond IN on August 17, 1968. Their 53-year marriage produced three children and nine grandchildren. They had homes in Oneida for seven years, Oneida Castle for 23 years, on Keuka Lake near Penn Yan for twenty years, and in Sherrill for one year.
She was a member of both Baptist and Methodist churches over the years, most recently the United Methodist Church in Penn Yan NY. She was a very spiritual person but not tied to any particular rigid religious dogma. She was a life-long learner, reading constantly. The last year of her life, she was active in three book clubs. In retirement, she took several courses on Jungian philosophy and political history from the adult learning center, Upstate Oasis, in Syracuse.
She leaves behind her loving husband, Richard; a daughter, Carolyn (Matthew Rounds) , of Oneida NY; two sons – Andrew (Angela) of Ashton, MD and Daniel (Denise Grogan) of Oneida Castle NY. She also leaves nine grandchildren; Owen and Zachary MacAlpine of Ashton MD; Phoebe and Ellie Rose of Sherrill, Matthew Hunter Rounds of Oneida; Abigail, Edward, William, and Katherine MacAlpine of Chittenango. She leaves a brother, Edward (Karen) Crisp in Nashua NH and many nieces and nephews scattered across the country. She had a special bond with cousins in Kansas and Indiana. She also leaves behind many good friends in the Oneida area, in the Keuka Lake area, in Ibstock, England and in Cedarburg WI. Jeanie was predeceased by her parents and a younger sister, Patricia.
Funeral services will be held 3 PM, Wednesday (August 11, 2021) from the Campbell-Dean Funeral Home, Inc., 260 Main Street, Oneida, with Gloria Wilkins, a longtime friend, officiating. Interment will be made in Lakeview Cemetery, Penn Yan. Friends may call at the funeral home, 1-3 PM, Wednesday, prior to the service.
Jeanie asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her name to the Oneida Public Library – 459 Main Street, Oneida NY 13421
Campbell-Dean
Funeral Home, Inc.
Oneida