- Born on: September 30, 1930
- Departed on: June 12, 2015
- Resided in: Ames, IA
Jean W. Ames
Jean Walsh (Connell) Ames died on Friday, June 12, 2015, in Ames, Iowa. She has been cremated, and a service celebrating her life and legacy will be held on Saturday, October 10, 2015, in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Jean was born on September 30, 1930, to Irene Castile Walsh and Jerome Robert (JR) Walsh in Little Rock, Arkansas. She moved around Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma with them and her brother, Jerome Robert Walsh, Jr. (1924–1995), while JR paved roads and built bridges and she began making life-long friends. In 1934, they settled in Stillwater where they lived in a duplex on Knoblock where she watched what now is the Gallagher-Iba Arena being built. The family later moved to a house on Third Street where members of her extended family stayed while they attended Oklahoma A&M. She attended Eugene Fields Elementary School where she played the piano in the mornings and made life-long friends. She graduated from Stillwater High School in 1949 and helped organize and attend regular and informal reunions of her and her brother’s classmates.
She attended Oklahoma A&M where she was a Pi Beta Phi. She met Elmer Connell, a tall, handsome Sigma Nu, and they were married in 1951 and moved to Casper, Wyoming, where he worked in the oil patch and she took care of their children, Christianna Irene who was born in 1952 and Patrick Walsh who was born in 1956. Distance from their families in Oklahoma and Missouri meant that the Connells created a family of friends, including Pi Phi and OSU pals, that celebrated holidays (including Christmas Eve parties at the Rogers’s and Thanksgivings, Christmases, and Easters with Jim, Jinnie, and Mary Ann Thomas) and birthdays and got together for picnics on Casper Mountain, backyard barbecues in the few weeks that weren’t snow covered, and parties for any occasion or no reason at all.
After Elmer died, she returned to Stillwater where she went back to school at OSU and met and married Doug Ames in 1967, adding his children, Mike and Penny, to her family. She modeled the importance of education by earning a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics in 1970 and a Master of Science in 1977. After a brief stint selling paint and dispensing expert decorating advice at Sherwin Williams, in 1978 she became the founding director of the Oklahoma Minority Purchasing Council (OMPC; now the Southwest Minority Supplier Development Council). In this position she traveled the state and befriended and offered OMPC services to her “favorite women, blacks, and Indians” who owned small businesses to ensure that they were aware of, could bid on, and win contracts and subcontracts to supply projects that were supported by federal monies.
Jean made and kept so many friends because she was so curious. Within a few minutes of meeting people, she drew them out until, usually within 30 minutes or so, she knew where they were from, who their people were, and how they were connected with someone else she knew. She satisfied her curiosity about the world by traveling. When she and Doug toured Europe they visited the French family that rescued Doug during WWII, and they began a tradition of hosting international guest they met on that trip. She and her mother were among the first Western visitors to China in 1978 and, as the tallest, blonde, blue-eyed person the Chinese people had ever seen, she literally stopped traffic. She and Irene also visited relatives in Sweden, Russia (twice, once when she stood next to Elizabeth Taylor to watch a Russian satellite launch), and traveled to Egypt and the Middle East. She was a great shopper whose shopping motto was, “If you see it and you like it, buy it, because they won’t have it in the next village or if they do it will be more expensive.” And, when it came to shoes (she wore size 9, often scarce in the stores), if they fit, buy a pair in every color. She adored shopping for fabric and making clothes for friends and family, and she especially enjoyed buying gifts.
She visited friends in Thailand, Belgium, and England; toured Europe, the Baltics, Scandinavia, the US, the Virgin Islands, and the Bahamas with friends; took Chris and Doug to London on a memorable OSU Theatre Department tour; and was planning a trip to the Amazon with Elaine when she became paralyzed in 1991. After a stint at Baptist Hospital where she entertained staff and visitors with her good cheer (but terrible compliance with rehab assignments . . .), her family grew to include many beloved caregivers, including Sheila, Courtney, Marita, Munira, Anna, Hannah, Johanna, Ronna, Elvira, Mickey, Karen, Rachel, Amy, Kym, and Terri. Dej and Pim Kumphai, Luanne Gage, and Dayna Kinder provided exceptional, faithful care above and beyond the call of duty. She was also blessed to have been cared for by Jamie and others from Stillwater Home Health.
Although her paralysis cut short her trips around the world, she continued to befriend and host many people from all over the US and the world. Her maternal grandfather, Isaac (Sarah Carlson) Castile was among the first wave of what became 8 million Swedish immigrants, and he helped establish the first permanent Swedish settlement west of the Mississippi near Fairfield, Iowa. Although they had visited Jean and Doug previously, Inger Johnsson and Stuvre and Ulla Stina Zeijlon visited Oklahoma and Iowa in 1995 to mark the centennial of the founding of the community.
She was honored to have been the godmother of Mary Ann (Thomas) Newcom from Casper, Wyoming (now Walla Walla, Washington) and John A. Price of Stillwater. She loved to gather folks—especially the children and grandchildren of her friends and caregivers—around her table by the kitchen window to eat and drink for meals, snacks, treats, and beverages. She was an excellent cook and took great pride in preparing special dishes for people and for keeping their favorite cookies, cakes, pies, seasoned crackers, and chips on hand, and she celebrate nearly everyone’s birthdays, engagements, or other special events with their favorite pies or cakes, flowers, and hand-crafted towels, knitted and hand-hemmed baby blankets, and cross-stitched eyeglass cases, towels, and pillowcases.
She was active in organizing and attending formal and informal class reunions of her class of 1949. and remained in contact with friends she made when the Walshes live in Wichita Falls, Texas right before they moved to Stillwater, friends she made on Third Street, and life-long friends from elementary school through her college years. However, without a doubt her very closest and most treasured ties were those she forged with her grandchildren who were the light of her life. She modeled generosity, a wicked sense of humor, and an insatiable thirst to keep up with the news, especially what was in the Wall Street Journal, in emails from friends and family, and the vast array of catalogs that filled her mailbox.
In 2013 Jean moved into the Northcrest Community Health Care Center in Ames where Chris lives. She quickly made fast friends with the staff and residents (she enjoyed a glass of wine before dinner and entertained by ordering “bloody marys” all around), and she delighted in feeding and watching the birds, squirrels, and other wildlife outside her window and on the patio outside the dining room. She took great pleasure in feeding the wildlife in a planter right outside the dining room picture window. In fact, the wildlife proved so popular that the tables were rearranged so everyone could see the window and observe the squirrels (Stephen and Blackie Joe), the possum (Pepperjack), rabbits, and various birds as they frolicked in her bird bath and ate the peanuts and critter food she provided and that continue to be provided in her name.
Jean is survived by a host of friends and family; her children, Christianna I. (Jeffrey) White of Ames, IA, and Patrick W. Connell of Mesquite, NV; her stepdaughter Penny (Martin) Anderson of Oklahoma City, OK; and her grandchildren Sarah C. (Bowen) Ranney of Brooklyn, NY; Thomas P. (Bryan Allen) White of Lanesboro, MN; and Jerome P. Connell of Las Vegas, NV. She was predeceased by her father, JR Walsh, in 1971; her mother, Irene C. Walsh, in 1984; her brother, Jerome Robert Walsh, Jr. and his wife Jane Walsh, in 1995; and her stepson, Michael Brian Ames in 2003. Jean’s body has been cremated, and her ashes will be scattered on the graves of her parents and her husbands, Elmer Lee Connell, Jr., who died in 1966, and Douglas M. Ames, who died in 2000.
Memorial gifts may be directed to the Stillwater Public Library or the Mulberry Dining Room Critter Food Fund at Northcrest Community Healthcare Center (a 501(C-3) organization), 1801 20th Street, Ames, IA 50010.
Jean was born on September 30, 1930, to Irene Castile Walsh and Jerome Robert (JR) Walsh in Little Rock, Arkansas. She moved around Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma with them and her brother, Jerome Robert Walsh, Jr. (1924–1995), while JR paved roads and built bridges and she began making life-long friends. In 1934, they settled in Stillwater where they lived in a duplex on Knoblock where she watched what now is the Gallagher-Iba Arena being built. The family later moved to a house on Third Street where members of her extended family stayed while they attended Oklahoma A&M. She attended Eugene Fields Elementary School where she played the piano in the mornings and made life-long friends. She graduated from Stillwater High School in 1949 and helped organize and attend regular and informal reunions of her and her brother’s classmates.
She attended Oklahoma A&M where she was a Pi Beta Phi. She met Elmer Connell, a tall, handsome Sigma Nu, and they were married in 1951 and moved to Casper, Wyoming, where he worked in the oil patch and she took care of their children, Christianna Irene who was born in 1952 and Patrick Walsh who was born in 1956. Distance from their families in Oklahoma and Missouri meant that the Connells created a family of friends, including Pi Phi and OSU pals, that celebrated holidays (including Christmas Eve parties at the Rogers’s and Thanksgivings, Christmases, and Easters with Jim, Jinnie, and Mary Ann Thomas) and birthdays and got together for picnics on Casper Mountain, backyard barbecues in the few weeks that weren’t snow covered, and parties for any occasion or no reason at all.
After Elmer died, she returned to Stillwater where she went back to school at OSU and met and married Doug Ames in 1967, adding his children, Mike and Penny, to her family. She modeled the importance of education by earning a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics in 1970 and a Master of Science in 1977. After a brief stint selling paint and dispensing expert decorating advice at Sherwin Williams, in 1978 she became the founding director of the Oklahoma Minority Purchasing Council (OMPC; now the Southwest Minority Supplier Development Council). In this position she traveled the state and befriended and offered OMPC services to her “favorite women, blacks, and Indians” who owned small businesses to ensure that they were aware of, could bid on, and win contracts and subcontracts to supply projects that were supported by federal monies.
Jean made and kept so many friends because she was so curious. Within a few minutes of meeting people, she drew them out until, usually within 30 minutes or so, she knew where they were from, who their people were, and how they were connected with someone else she knew. She satisfied her curiosity about the world by traveling. When she and Doug toured Europe they visited the French family that rescued Doug during WWII, and they began a tradition of hosting international guest they met on that trip. She and her mother were among the first Western visitors to China in 1978 and, as the tallest, blonde, blue-eyed person the Chinese people had ever seen, she literally stopped traffic. She and Irene also visited relatives in Sweden, Russia (twice, once when she stood next to Elizabeth Taylor to watch a Russian satellite launch), and traveled to Egypt and the Middle East. She was a great shopper whose shopping motto was, “If you see it and you like it, buy it, because they won’t have it in the next village or if they do it will be more expensive.” And, when it came to shoes (she wore size 9, often scarce in the stores), if they fit, buy a pair in every color. She adored shopping for fabric and making clothes for friends and family, and she especially enjoyed buying gifts.
She visited friends in Thailand, Belgium, and England; toured Europe, the Baltics, Scandinavia, the US, the Virgin Islands, and the Bahamas with friends; took Chris and Doug to London on a memorable OSU Theatre Department tour; and was planning a trip to the Amazon with Elaine when she became paralyzed in 1991. After a stint at Baptist Hospital where she entertained staff and visitors with her good cheer (but terrible compliance with rehab assignments . . .), her family grew to include many beloved caregivers, including Sheila, Courtney, Marita, Munira, Anna, Hannah, Johanna, Ronna, Elvira, Mickey, Karen, Rachel, Amy, Kym, and Terri. Dej and Pim Kumphai, Luanne Gage, and Dayna Kinder provided exceptional, faithful care above and beyond the call of duty. She was also blessed to have been cared for by Jamie and others from Stillwater Home Health.
Although her paralysis cut short her trips around the world, she continued to befriend and host many people from all over the US and the world. Her maternal grandfather, Isaac (Sarah Carlson) Castile was among the first wave of what became 8 million Swedish immigrants, and he helped establish the first permanent Swedish settlement west of the Mississippi near Fairfield, Iowa. Although they had visited Jean and Doug previously, Inger Johnsson and Stuvre and Ulla Stina Zeijlon visited Oklahoma and Iowa in 1995 to mark the centennial of the founding of the community.
She was honored to have been the godmother of Mary Ann (Thomas) Newcom from Casper, Wyoming (now Walla Walla, Washington) and John A. Price of Stillwater. She loved to gather folks—especially the children and grandchildren of her friends and caregivers—around her table by the kitchen window to eat and drink for meals, snacks, treats, and beverages. She was an excellent cook and took great pride in preparing special dishes for people and for keeping their favorite cookies, cakes, pies, seasoned crackers, and chips on hand, and she celebrate nearly everyone’s birthdays, engagements, or other special events with their favorite pies or cakes, flowers, and hand-crafted towels, knitted and hand-hemmed baby blankets, and cross-stitched eyeglass cases, towels, and pillowcases.
She was active in organizing and attending formal and informal class reunions of her class of 1949. and remained in contact with friends she made when the Walshes live in Wichita Falls, Texas right before they moved to Stillwater, friends she made on Third Street, and life-long friends from elementary school through her college years. However, without a doubt her very closest and most treasured ties were those she forged with her grandchildren who were the light of her life. She modeled generosity, a wicked sense of humor, and an insatiable thirst to keep up with the news, especially what was in the Wall Street Journal, in emails from friends and family, and the vast array of catalogs that filled her mailbox.
In 2013 Jean moved into the Northcrest Community Health Care Center in Ames where Chris lives. She quickly made fast friends with the staff and residents (she enjoyed a glass of wine before dinner and entertained by ordering “bloody marys” all around), and she delighted in feeding and watching the birds, squirrels, and other wildlife outside her window and on the patio outside the dining room. She took great pleasure in feeding the wildlife in a planter right outside the dining room picture window. In fact, the wildlife proved so popular that the tables were rearranged so everyone could see the window and observe the squirrels (Stephen and Blackie Joe), the possum (Pepperjack), rabbits, and various birds as they frolicked in her bird bath and ate the peanuts and critter food she provided and that continue to be provided in her name.
Jean is survived by a host of friends and family; her children, Christianna I. (Jeffrey) White of Ames, IA, and Patrick W. Connell of Mesquite, NV; her stepdaughter Penny (Martin) Anderson of Oklahoma City, OK; and her grandchildren Sarah C. (Bowen) Ranney of Brooklyn, NY; Thomas P. (Bryan Allen) White of Lanesboro, MN; and Jerome P. Connell of Las Vegas, NV. She was predeceased by her father, JR Walsh, in 1971; her mother, Irene C. Walsh, in 1984; her brother, Jerome Robert Walsh, Jr. and his wife Jane Walsh, in 1995; and her stepson, Michael Brian Ames in 2003. Jean’s body has been cremated, and her ashes will be scattered on the graves of her parents and her husbands, Elmer Lee Connell, Jr., who died in 1966, and Douglas M. Ames, who died in 2000.
Memorial gifts may be directed to the Stillwater Public Library or the Mulberry Dining Room Critter Food Fund at Northcrest Community Healthcare Center (a 501(C-3) organization), 1801 20th Street, Ames, IA 50010.
