Jean Loreen Newton was born on October 8, 1942 and welcomed into God’s loving arms on July 7, 2024.
Jean joined our Diversicare Family on August 23, 2023. Prior to her admission to our center, Jean lived in the Hutchinson community. It isn’t uncommon to have residents in our center that come without much of a history, but we were able to gather some information about our sweet friend.
Jean reported to her best friend and roommate, Cindy, that she grew up in Pratt, KS. She told her she finished 7th grade, then began working. Jean said she was close to her mother growing up and had a brother. She did have a significant other who passed away from cancer a number of years ago. She did not have any children and she did not believe she had any living family members.
But a person’s history is only a fraction of his or her story. In her 11 months with us, Jean touched many hearts with her kindness, and her final chapter was a beautiful one.
Jean was never without a smile. She often spoke about how lucky she was to get to live in our center surrounded by her friends. She loved animals, playing BINGO, doing puzzles, and reading her romance novels. She didn’t talk much about her faith but did say that she was Baptist and that she very much enjoyed Bible Study. She did talk about the Chiefs, though! And even convinced her roommate who had never much enjoyed football to watch every game of the 23-24 season.
We didn’t need to know about her past to know what an honor it was to be a part of her present. Jean was such a blessing to our Diversicare Family and will be forever missed.