Jean Stenmark

1922 - 2018

Jean Kerr Stenmark

August 25, 1922 - July 24, 2018

Jean Kerr Stenmark was born in Davis on August 25, 1922, the younger daughter of Rachel Bledsoe Kerr and Norman Kerr. During Jean's childhood the family moved many times. Jean remembered with fondness their home in the Berryessa Valley, which later vanished with the construction of Monticello Dam. Jean attended a one-room school there until she was ten years old.

When Jean was ten she began attending school in Modesto. She was far ahead academically, so she was skipped ahead two grades. Her experience going from a small one-room school to a large junior high where she was the youngest in the school was traumatic, and she often spoke of it with regret in later years. Jean graduated from Modesto High and Modesto Junior College before attending U.C. Berkeley, majoring in economics. She graduated with honors from Cal in 1942.

After her graduation, Jean worked as a clerk and later as a supervisor at the Naval Supply Center in Oakland. When the war ended, she left her job with the Navy and took accounting courses at Golden Gate University. Over the next eight years she worked as an accountant for several companies in San Francisco.

As a young adult Jean became an avid skier. She joined the Viking Ski Club and became a member of the ski patrol and an avalanche ranger at Donner Pass--one of only a handful of female avalanche rangers nationwide. It was there that she met Roy Stenmark. They were married in 1952.

Jean and Roy had three children: Ruthann, John, and Jane. The two shared their love of the outdoors with their children, taking them camping every summer. Jean also loved animals. Over the years, the household held a menagerie of dogs, cats, reptiles, amphibians, rodents, and fish.

After her marriage split up in 1967, Jean returned to school to earn a teaching credential. She taught in Oakland, first as an elementary classroom teacher and later as a math resource teacher. In 1980 she joined the staff of the EQUALS program at Lawrence Hall of Science. During her career she served as vice-president and president of the California Mathematics Council Northern Section and as president of the Alameda County Mathematics Educators. She was active with the California Department of Education, serving as an advisor to the CAP and CLAS assessment programs, and wrote several publications on math assessment for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Jean's dedication to making math meaningful and accessible to all students was an inspiration to those who knew her.

Jean was also a loving and devoted grandmother. She attended her grandchildren's performances and sporting events whenever she could. She came to their birthday parties and enjoyed having them over to do watercolor painting together, work on a jigsaw puzzle, or watch a basketball game.

Jean died peacefully on the morning of July 24, one month shy of her 96th birthday. She is survived by her children Ruthann (Wayne Takakuwa), John (Maria Cava), and Jane (John Erickson), her grandchildren Matthew (Lindsay), Eric (Melynee), Rachel (Micah), Alice, Teddy (Laura), and Isabel, great-granddaughter Ella, and numerous nephews, great-nephews and great-nieces.

A memorial celebration will be held on Saturday, September 1st at 2 p.m. at Arlington Community Church in Kensington. In lieu of flowers the family suggest donations to the Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee, the Audubon Society, the Sierra Club, or another environmental organization.