THOMPSON, Jean Wilson

The White Mountain Independent, Show Low, Arizona ~ February 19, 2008 Jean Wilson Taylor Thompson, 98, died Feb. 8, 2008, in Las Cruces, N.M. She was born June 9, 1909, in Phoenix to John Lees Taylor and Margaret Wilson Taylor, an Arizona pioneer family. Jean attended Tempe State College and then the University of Arizona in Tucson, where she graduated with a teaching degree. She was a member of Delta Gamma Sorority and the UofA tennis team. She earned a master's degree in education from Arizona State College (now Northern Arizona University) in Flagstaff. Before her marriage, she taught elementary school in the Washington School District in Phoenix. Jean married Stewart Vaughn Thompson Nov. 28, 1936, at Trinity Cathedral in Phoenix and they moved to the Navajo Reservation. Jean and Stewart lived at and operated three successive trading posts including Tse Bonito, Pine Springs and Wide Ruins. She later returned to teaching at Window Rock School District and taught fourth grade until her retirement in 1976. The Thompsons built their retirement home in the Village of Oak Creek in Sedona, where Jean continued to live until October 2005. Jean was an avid tennis player until the age of 90. She enjoyed square dancing, playing bridge, hiking and gardening. She was a volunteer at Marcus J. Lawrence Hospital in Cottonwood for 15 years. She tutored children through the Sedona Literary Center. She was a member of the AAUM. She loved entertaining family and friends at her home and was a devoted mother and grandmother. Jean and Stewart were very active and involved members of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Sedona. She is survived by a son, S. Vaughn (Carole) Thompson Jr. of Show Low; daughters Peggy (Richard) Glasco of Durango, Colo., and Sydney Sachse (James) of Las Cruces, N.M.; brothers Edgar (Jessie) Taylor of McAllen, Texas, and Sidney (Lois) Taylor of Phoenix; nine grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Stewart; and her brothers, John (Ann) Lees Taylor Jr. and Perry (Lona) Taylor; and her sisters, Louise (Jack) Dewar, Marian (Kenneth) Henderson, Dorothy (Dick) Joy and Nancy (Bob) Briscoe. Memorial services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, May 10, at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 100 Arroya Pinon Drive in Sedona. Donations can be made in her name to First Families of Arizona, Phoenix Museum of History, online address:membership@pmoh.org.