Jean Bantle Forrest

Mrs. Jean Bantle Forrest, age 100, of Jacksonville, Florida, passed away on February 5, 2026. Jean was born on February 20, 1925, in St. Louis, Missouri. She began dancing at the age of 5 and joined the St. Louis Municipal Opera at 16. From the Muni Opera, she went on to dance on Broadway in the show "Follow the Girls" from 1946 to 1948. During her run on Broadway, she met her husband Richard Forrest, and they married in 1949. Jean and Richard were married for 50 years until he died in 1999.

During Jean's professional dancing career, she had 3 children. Karen Pfeiffer (Mike), Johnny Forrest (Dot), Jan Thorpe (Brian). Jean has 9 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren.

After starting her family, Jean opened a dance studio in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1960. Jean's Professional Dance Academy taught generations of girls and a few boys the love, poise, and art of dance. She was deeply loved by her students in her 50 years of operating her dance studio.

Jean will be greatly missed by all her surviving family. She was preceded in death by her husband, her son Johnny, her 3 sisters, and her parents.

The viewing will take place at Jacksonville Memory Garden on Tuesday, February 10, from 5-7 pm. On Wednesday, February 11, at 11 am, there will be a funeral mass at Saint Matthew's Catholic Church, 1773 Blanding Blvd (reception following mass at the church hall). The burial will take place at 2 PM at Jacksonville Memory Gardens, Orange Park.

In place of flowers, the family would like donations to be made to Saint Jude's Children's Hospital.

* Remember, as Ms. Jean would say - Take God with you and always follow your dreams.