Jean Waring Boal

Jean Waring Boal lived as if no one was looking, always leaving others feeling seen and loved.



Jean was born on February 23, 1945, at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, California to her proud parents Glenn Davis and Marian Howell Waring.



Her father was on assignment in Geneva, Switzerland so Marian sailed across the Atlantic with baby Jean to join him. Baby Jean had a nanny in Switzerland, and her first words were in French.



Glenn, Marian, Jean and sister Adelaide (Heidi), returned to the states to make their home in Pasadena, Sunland, Burbank, then finally Glendale. Jean became the leader of the five Waring siblings Adelaide, Glenn, Richard, and Robert. She graduated from Glendale High and went on to study English literature at Cal Poly Pomona where she roomed with Harpo Marx's daughter, Minnie. She completed her bachelor's degree at San Francisco State.



She joined the Peace Corps in the summer of 1966, training in Key West, Florida for three months before her assignment in Palau, Micronesia teaching children English as a Second Language. That summer she joined other volunteers in Truk, Micronesia, to train a new contingent of volunteers. It was there that she and Jeffrey Boal fell in love.



After their tours, Jeff and Jean married in Glendale, CA on August 16, 1969. They settled in Inglewood, CA where Jeff began his first career as a YMCA professional.



They started a family with Alicia, born in 1971 and then Michael in 1973. They purchased their first home when Jeff transferred to the Lakewood YMCA in Long Beach.



In 1976 they moved to Japan where both Jean and Jeff helped expand a fledgling new YMCA with their ESL teaching skills while their two children attended Japanese schools.



Jean and Jeff returned to the states in 1979. Jean was pregnant and Peter Boal was born in Santa Rosa shortly after they returned. While raising her children, Jean worked part-time in education in Sonoma and Marin Counties. Friends and co-workers in a school in Cloverdale encouraged her to enroll in seminary and fulfill a lifelong desire to minister to others.



She earned her master's in divinity from San Francisco Theological Seminary in 2006. She was called in 2008 by the Trinity Congregational Church in the gold rush town of Weaverville, CA. She was ordained and then installed in 2009 as the Pastor for this small United Church of Christ Congregation. Jeff and Jean loved becoming active with the church and community. However, in 2014 Jeff and Jean both noticed some changes in her and after testing, it was determined she had Alzheimer's Disease.



Jean and Jeff returned to the home in Sebastopol which they had leased out while in Weaverville. They were astonished by the renovations made to their house by many Sebastopol neighbors and friends to welcome them home. While her journey with the disease slowly stole Jean's brain, it left her heart still serving others even in her last days when many whose lives were lifted by her natural ministry came to thank her and say goodbye. She died at home on November 12, 2025.



There will be a Celebration of Life on February 7th at 2 pm at the Community Church of Sebastopol, 1000 Gravenstein Hwy No.



In lieu of flowers please consider a donation in Jean's name to the Community Church of Sebastopol's Building Fund (www.uccseb.org) or to Alzheimer's Association, 1450 Neotomas Avenue, Suite 140, Santa Rosa, CA 95405.



Or look someone in the eye and smile as she did with so many whose hearts were hungry to be seen and loved.