Donald Jeane

Obituary of Dr. Donald Gregory Jeane

Greg was born on June 12, 1945, in DeRidder, Louisiana, to Gilmer and Lillian Jeane. He was the middle child of five boys: Gilmer Jeane Jr., Gerald Jeane (Nicole), Larry Jeane (Johanne), and Dennis Jeane. Greg is predeceased by his brothers Larry and Dennis.

Greg was married to his sweetheart Karen Jeane for 53 wonderful years. He had two children and six grandchildren, all with whom he had loving, close relationships. He was always the first to lend a helping hand and was known to tell an incredible story, offer a funny joke, and make a delicious cheesecake. He is survived by his wife Karen; his son Charles Gregory Jeane (Jessica) and their four boys - Jackson, Liam, Charles Gregory Jr., and David Jeane; and his daughter Lauren Jeane Dressback (Angela) and Lauren's two children Kaylee Garcia (Santiago) and Tyler Alan Dressback.

Greg grew up in Louisiana and Texas, and attended LSU, where he studied cultural geography. After receiving his bachelor's degree, he went to the University of Georgia to do graduate work but returned to LSU to earn his Ph.D. in geography.

Greg's first college professorship was at Auburn University, where he was asked to lead a team to create a new honor code for the university and then to lead the committee that would be tasked to adjudicate students who were accused of breaching the honor code. He was known as "Dr. Honesty" at Auburn.

After 15 years at Auburn, Greg received an invitation from Samford University in Birmingham to start a geography program. He and his family moved from Opelika, Alabama, to Birmingham, and he taught almost 20 years at Samford until he retired. One of his favorite classes to teach was a six-week cultural geography field camp, where he and 10 to 12 students would travel across the United States and into the Canadian Rockies to study the land and its people.

He received awards at both Auburn and Samford for his teaching and was awarded the title Professor Emeritus at Samford.

Greg was a devout member of Independence Presbyterian Church (IPC) in Birmingham and was also an active member of the Vestavia Hills Rotary Club. He held many officer positions in Rotary, including president, and represented his club at Rotary International. The Rotary standards and values were important to Greg, as was evident by his earning the right to be named a Paul Harris Fellow for not only himself but also for his wife and both his children.

At IPC, Greg sang in the choir for almost 20 years and served as a deacon. The most meaningful work he did with IPC was the many missionary trips he made to the village of Mwandi in Zambia, Africa. Greg cared deeply for the people of Mwandi, and he spearheaded the building of a new school closer to the village so that village children would not continue to have to make a 10-mile roundtrip walk to attend school. He raised the funds to have the school constructed, classroom furniture built, and to hire a teacher. The school is still operating to this day.

A memorial service to honor Greg will be held at IPC on Friday, April 4, 2025, at 2 pm CST. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Greg's name to IPC or the Vestavia Hills Rotary Club.