Jeanne Gilchrist Vance

Family-Placed Funeral Notice

JEANNE GILCHRIST VANCE (JINNY) Jinny Vance died December 15, 2003, in her home in Manalapan, Florida. She passed away suddenly of flu-related pneumonia. She was 68. Born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, she was the only child of Joseph A. Vance, Jr. and Jeanne Gilchrist. She was influenced greatly by her grandmother, Hester ÒHeppyÓ Gilchrist after her motherÕs early death. She spent her childhood summers at the former family summer lodge, known as Gilwanigan, in Alpina, Michigan. She was a champion Saddle bred rider as a teenager and appeared in National equestrian events while a student at Miss PorterÕs School in Farmington, Connecticut. She became a director of Gilchrist Timber, a ponderosa pine logging and milling operation in Gilchrist, Oregon at a young age. Gilchrist Timber was founded by the Gilchrist family in the 19th Century. She Married H. Keith Smith in 1955 and had two sons; she later divorced and married Milton J. Dance Jr. (Laddie) in 1965. She was a resident of Manalapan, Florida with additional vacation homes in Glencoe, Maryland and Saratoga, New York. She established a commercial thoroughbred breeding operation with her husband, Laddie Dance, at their TaylorÕs Purchase Farm in Maryland. They raced several stakes winners, including Lemon Drop Kid, who became the only horse to win these five prestigious New York stakes; the Futurity when he was 2, the Belmont and Travers when he was 3 and the Whitney and Woodward when he was 4. He went on to win the Eclipse award as North AmericasÕ top older horse in 2000. ÒWe love the pageantry of this sport and the courage of these animals,Ó she said after winning the Belmont. It was a crowning moment for her within her lifetime passion for horses. Her love of horses was surpassed by her passionate desire to help others; she was an extremely generous philanthropist and visionary. When her husband, a renowned thoroughbred auctioneer, successfully recovered from vocal cord cancer in the 70Õs, she established the Milton J. Dance Head and Neck Rehabilitation Center at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. It is currently recognized nationally, as one of the finest rehabilitation centers in the country. In 1996, she Founded and financed the Gilchrist Center Hospice of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland. To recognize and complement her familyÕs history; the facility architecturally resembles the Grosse Pointe Country Club of Michigan. She further recognized her familyÕs history during the dedication of the Gilchrist Center when she spoke of a cornerstone within the building that contains a piece of Ponderosa Pine she personally collected from the familyÕs Gilchrist Timber operation in Gilchrist, Oregon. The interior of the exceptionally beautiful 24 bed facility emulates a warm, comforting, and restful setting. The Chapel within the Center is named for her father, Joseph A. Vance, Jr., a Baltimore-born attorney, who practiced in Detroit, and managed the familyÕs timber, banking and Great Lakes shipping interests. ÒShe was a visionary - and a very generous visionary. We consider her our founding director,Ó said Lori Mulligan, an official of Hospice of Baltimore, which operates the center. ÒShe saw that Baltimore needed a dedicated Hospice of the same quality she had seen in South Florida.Ó In Florida, during the 80Õs and 90Õs, Ms. Vance initiated and funded extensive Hospice ÒLegends ChallengeÓ events on behalf of Hospice of Palm Beach County South Guild. A memorial service will be held at 1 P.M. on January 3, 2004 at the Chestnut Grove Presbyterian Church, located at 3701 Sweet Air Road, Phoenix, Maryland. An additional remembrance service is being planned for February in the Palm Beach area. She is survived by 2 sons; Mark Smith, Robert Smith and his wife Kathleen and their three children; step-daughter, Dettzie Walker, her husband Michael and their three daughters. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Gilchrist Center Hospice of Baltimore, Maryland and the Milton J. Dance Head and Neck Rehabilitation Center at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. QUATTLEBAUM FUNERAL HOME Family Owned and Operated www.Quattlebaum.org