Jean Miner

Jean transitioned from this world to whatever lies beyond having enjoyed her 93 years.
Jean was born in Pittsfield, Illinois to William (Bill) & Ethyl Erma (Ruble) Messick. The Great Depression changed the course of Bill's life and took him from the family. Ethyl devoted her life to raising their four daughters Helen, Kathryn, Lucile, and Jean. Jean attended first grade in Milton, Illinois (population 400).
Jean was a 1948 graduate of Salinas Union High School, received her A.A. Degree from Hartnell College (an Early Childhood Education major). She received her B.A. in Business Management from Saint Mary's of California in Moraga.
In 1952, at a fiesta in San Juan Bautista, she was asked to dance by a young man who had just completed two tours of duty in the US Navy (South Pacific WWII and Korea). Two months later Jean became Mrs. Ronald Francis Miner, and began what was to be a loving 50-year union. Ron, who for many of those years was a Captain in the Salinas Fire Dept., was always an active supporter of all of Jean's undertakings.
Those included serving as a deputy in the Monterey County Sheriff's Civil Division, teaching preschool at Sherwood Elementary School and Early Childhood Education at Hartnell College, founding and for 28 years serving as Executive Director of Children's Services International, a not-for-profit corporation. Children's Services International (CSI) began as one small child care center with five employees serving 24 young children. Through the tireless efforts of many dedicated colleagues and benefactors, CSI grew to a staff of 165, and built/acquired/operated multiple centers throughout Monterey County. By the time Jean retired at the age of 71, over 2,200 children were receiving care in CSI centers or affiliated licensed family child care homes. CSI also formed and led a collaborative of 26 allied agencies providing a myriad of services addressing the needs of children and their families.
Locally Jean's volunteer services included serving as president of the Central Coast Assn. for the Education of Young Children, Salinas Valley Council of Parents and Teachers, Salinas Valley Child Abuse Prevention Council, the Monterey County Coalition for Children, Coalition of Homeless Services Providers, and the Salinas-Kushikino Sister City Association.
For many years, Jean was an active member of the California Child Development Administrators Association. She served as a Governor's appointee on the California Early Childhood Education Advisory Committee and on the Hartnell College committee.
As a delegate of the United Nations Association, she participated in the U.N. Forum 85 in Nairobi, Kenya. As a member of the World Organization for Early Childhood Education and the National Child Care Association, she traveled, consulted, and lectured in the U.S. and other countries, including: Russia, Hungary, Lithuania, England, Sweden, Japan, and China. Her report "Child Care in the People's Republic of China" was published in Child Resource World Review. She also participated in President Mandela's Initiative for Education in South Africa.
For her local and global efforts on behalf of children Jean received recognition from the United States Congress and the California State Legislature. St. Mary's College honored her with the college's Distinguished Alumni Award. The Monterey County Commission on the Status of Women named her as one of the 1991 Women of the Year. The Salinas Chamber of Commerce presented her with the 1996 Business Woman of the Year – Athena award. Hartnell College, the County of Monterey, the City of Salinas, and the City of Kushikino, Japan, presented plaques acknowledging her efforts.
Family members near and dear to her, who survive her, include daughter Roni O'Connell (Timothy); her son, the Rev. Darren Miner (Mathew); grandchildren Justin O'Connell (Kelly), their son Landon and daughter Aubrey; Ryan O'Connell (Ashley), their sons Liam and Asher; Kelley O'Connell Sivertson and her sons Tyler, William, and Cameron.
Jean's husband, parents, and sisters passed away long before her. Jean will join members of her extended family in repose at the Garden of Memories in Salinas, CA.