Ms. Jeanne A. Parsley (’51)

Jeanne Parsley of Essex, Vermont, died peacefully on Wednesday, December 18, 2024.

She was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on March 28, 1927, the first child of Harold J. and Claire (Lycette) Anderson. Her early years were spent on Long Island, and she moved to Connecticut in her late childhood, graduating from New Haven (Hillhouse) High School in 1944 and Bates College in 1948 with a major in philosophy and a membership in Phi Beta Kappa.

At Bates, she met her husband-to-be, Charles John Parsley, Jr. and in August of 1948 they were married. They both continued their education at Boston University School of Theology where she received a master’s degree in religious education in 1951.

Upon graduation, Jeanne and Charles moved to Vermont where Charles served as minister in several communities and Jeanne supported him in his ministry. While living in East Barre, she helped form a Girl Scout troop and was active in many roles in the Scouting movement. She organized a community kindergarten since there was none in the school system and was delighted when it became a part of the regular school experience. With a move to North Bennington and the arrival of their four children, Jeanne’s focus was on child rearing with all its joys and challenges.

In 1964 the family moved to India where Jeanne and Charles served as missionaries for the United Church Board of World Ministries. Charles served as Chaplain at Ahmednager College and as Professor of Old Testament and Pastoral Counseling at United Western India Theological College in Pune while Jeanne worked with the women’s program in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra State, and later taught at Kodaikanal School in Tamilnadu.

The family returned to the States in 1968 and went to Oakville, Connecticut, where Jeanne taught at Cross Street School in Naugatuck. She continued her education, earning a second master’s degree, this one in elementary education, from Western Connecticut State University.

Returning to Vermont in 1971, the family settled in Grafton and later in Bellows Falls, and finally in Essex in 1998. Jeanne taught language arts to 7th and 8th graders at the Bellows Falls Middle School for 18 years. She was active in the drama department and helped many people develop a love for theater. One of her classes put on a performance of parts of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the New England Shakespeare Festival. She directed several one-act plays put on by the teaching staff at the Middle School.

Jeanne loved to travel. She reveled in learning about other cultures and how they answered the basic questions of where we come from, why we are here and where we are going. Upon retiring from teaching in 1989, she went to work for Greater Falls Travel Agency and helped other people travel as well as traveling herself. She traveled widely in the United States and to over 50 countries around the world over the course of her life.

Jeanne loved to volunteer and worked hard to make the world a better place. She started out when she was in high school working at well-baby clinics for the Visiting Nurse Association in New Haven. In the various parishes where Charles served as minister, she taught Sunday school, sang in the choir, directed plays, counseled many people over a cup of coffee, and washed dishes after church suppers. She was a Guardian-ad-litem in the Windham County Family Court, a member of the Reparative Justice Board in Essex, a teacher of English as a second language at Essex High School, a member of the Social Action Committee at the First Unitarian Universalist Society in Burlington, and a marcher for many social causes.

Jeanne loved to learn. She was an avid reader; she read everything from books about our brains and how we interact with the world, to social and political issues, to spy stories and grisly mysteries, to the New York Times and even the ingredient list on the back of the cereal box. She took online courses in writing, photography, speaking Spanish and Jungian psychology. She even took a course in philosophy of the mind at UVM at the age of 87.

Jeanne loved music. She sang in many choruses during her life, and especially liked singing with the Burlington Choral Society with her daughter Karen and her granddaughter Erica. She attended concerts and recitals, and never missed one when Karen was singing.

Jeanne loved her friends. She made life-long friends wherever she went—traveling, teaching, volunteering, swimming at the Edge, facilitating her covenant group at church, and sharing writing with her haiku group. She was open, caring, and supportive to whomever she met. She was always available for a chat on the phone, a lunch out, or a listening ear over a cup of tea.

And Jeanne loved her family. She loved camping with Charles and all the kids when they were little. She loved watching them grow into adulthood. She loved her sons-in-law and the ever-expanding families that ensued. She was always there to listen when they had concerns and to help whenever necessary. She was never happier than when the whole tribe visited for holidays.

Jeanne is survived by her children, MarthaJeanne Barton and her husband Jerry Barton of Vienna, Austria; Karen Baron and her husband Dana Baron of Shelburne, Vermont with whom she made her home in Essex for twenty years; Cynthia Baehr and her husband Thomas Baehr of Putney, Vermont; and Andrew Hui Parsley of Keene, New Hampshire. She leaves seven grandchildren and their spouses and six great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband Charles John Parsley in 2007 and her brother Donald Anderson in 2015.

A memorial service will be held at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington on January 19th at 2:30 p.m. with Rev. Karen Johnston presiding. A reception will follow.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, Planned Parenthood of Northern Vermont, or a charity of your own choosing.