Jean Ann van Biene, 65, a former Baker City resident, died of pancreatic cancer on June 23, 2002, at Scottsdale, Ariz.
Her memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Messinger Mortuary Chapel in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Jean was born in Chicopee Falls, Mass., on March 4, 1937. She graduated from Philip Schuyler High School at Albany, N.Y., and received a bachelor of arts degree in theater and sociology from Eastern Oregon University at La Grande.
Jean and her husband, Frederic, and son, Steven, moved to Scottsdale, Ariz., from San Gabriel, Calif., in 1979.
Jean was actively involved professionally, owning and operating Diet Center franchises in the greater Phoenix, Ariz., area throughout most of the 1980s. She was a past president of the Business and Professional Women’s Organization (BPW).
Later, she was active as a tour guide and as an actress in historical reenactment at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center on Flagstaff Hill. Jean was always active in community theater in Scottsdale and in Baker City. She was a member of the East Valley Teller of Tales as well as being a docent and guild member at the Heard Museum at Phoenix, Ariz.
Jean was a member of the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at Scottsdale. All who knew Jean will miss her love and presence in their lives.
Survivors include her husband, Frederic; a son, Steven Grumkoski of Scottsdale; stepdaughter, Laura Miller of Baker City; sisters, Joyce Nead and Denise Schultz of Schenectady, N.Y.; and three grandchildren, Aaron, Cal and Emily Miller of Baker City.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to the Hospice of the Valley, 5111 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 280, Scottsdale, Ariz. 85250-7091.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, June 28, 2002
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor