Jeannette Marie Jarvis

Jeannette Marie Jarvis
Jeannette Marie (Khury) Jarvis celebrated her 100th birthday with cake and ice cream and close family and friends on January 1, 2021, and left this earth on January 22, 2021 due to natural causes. Jeannette lived a long and interesting life beginning in Portland, Oregon, where she was born to Najib Elias Khury and Pauline (Steinmetz) Khury. She had many family friends in the Lebanese community in Portland, and grew up to be a fiercely independent, salt of the earth, no nonsense, but loving, individual who was also dearly loved in return. To her children and grandchildren she was the rock who held the family together.
Jeannette (Mom) graduated from Roosevelt High School in Portland, Oregon where she was active in track and other sports. A few months after her graduation, she went out for the evening with her girlfriend, Ruby, where she met a dashing young man, Walter Jarvis, and they soon married. Since this was during WWII, Walter joined the Army Air Corps and was sent to Italy and North Africa. Just before he left, their baby girl, Jan, was born. After Walter left for Europe, Mom went with her new baby to live with her husband's mother, Levella Mae Jarvis, in Sixes, Oregon.
When Walter (Dad) returned, he made the Air Force his career, eventually rising to the rank of Master Sargent, which meant that the family moved frequently. This gave Mom the opportunity raise her three children (Jan, Scott, and Susan) in several of the western states, including Colorado, Idaho, and California. Mom and Dad both loved the out of doors so the family went on frequent camping, backpacking, and hunting trips. Dad also loved to ski and taught Mom and Jan (age 5) how to ski at Berthoud and Loveland passes in Colorado. Skiing became a life-long love of Jeannette's. She skied at Kirkwood the first year it was opened, and at Dodge Ridge, and Bear Valley until her mid-sixties.
When Walter was only 41 years old he died suddenly which left Jeannette with three children to raise. Walter's mother was very generous, and helped Jeannette start a business selling and repairing sewing machines and vacuum cleaners. Jeannette ran the business with a partner in San Jose for a couple of years and realized that she was better at business decisions than her partner. So, in 1966 she moved her business to a retail space at California and Weber in Stockton, and re- named it Valley Sewing Center. At that time the area was thriving with nice shops. In 1987, she moved her business to the Miracle Mile. Jeannette never remarried as her motto was "once was enough." She was the sole proprietor of her store with the occasional help of an always smiling, dedicated part-time salesman, Tom, who could sell ice cubes to Eskimos.
While at the Miracle Mile location, Sarah Newhall Zuckerman wrote a feature article on Mom and her store in The Listener in June of 1994. Sarah pointed out that Jeannette's store sold high end sewing machines and sergers, such as Bernina and Pfaff. Mom's store offered repair and servicing of almost all sewing machines and vacuum cleaners and because she had reasonable prices and gave honest and fair service she had a very good reputation and made a comfortable living for herself for over 37 years. Also, because Mom was so successful at selling Berninas and met her quotas, she won several all expenses paid company sponsored trips to Hong Kong, Macao, South Korea, Switzerland, Germany, Venice, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Bermuda. She also found time to visit Butchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C. Those trips were among the greatest highlights of her life. Jeannette also belonged to the Haute Couture sewing club, where she volunteered for several years sewing hospice gowns. She greatly enjoyed her time spent with Haute Couture and remained a member until she had trouble seeing well enough to sew.
Mom loved to keep her modest home spotless and to work in her spacious yard after work and on weekends, tending to her camellia and rose bushes, along with her many other flowering plants. She kept her figure slim by never eating anything even remotely fattening and by walking at least a mile each and every day in her neighborhood, in the parks of Stockton, and in the mall during the winter months. She enjoyed visiting her son, Scott and his two children, Joel and Victoria, in Sonoma, and going on long hikes with them in the mountains nearby and to the seashore. She made delicious cookies and desserts for all of her grandchildren and they all always looked forward to visiting Grandma's house. Her grandchildren were her pride and joy and she saw them frequently. Throughout the years she welcomed, with a loving heart, family members and close friends and their children to live with her, sometimes for long periods, while they were pursuing higher education degrees and/or while transitioning from one career to another. She never asked to be paid back for their living expenses, preferring just to know that she was able to help the people she loved.
During her later years when she could no longer drive (after age 93) her greatest pleasure was to be taken for rides everyday throughout the countryside to see the walnut and almond groves, beautiful houses near the University of the Pacific and Morada, and the parks and waterways of Stockton. She was a very good traveler and would ask for nothing while riding in the car, even on annual one day round trips to Reno, Yosemite, and Big Trees State Park where she would be wheeled through the park in her wheelchair while marveling at the magnificent trees. She seldom watched television, preferring instead to read non-fiction books. She read The Stockton Record, every single day, even up to a few days past her 100th birthday.
Jeannette was preceded in death by her parents, Najib and Pauline Khury, her uncle Joseph Khury, and uncle Professor Anis Khury-Makdissi and aunt Amineh Khury-Makdissi both of whom lived in Beruit, Lebanon, her husband Walter Jarvis, her brothers Kenneth and Howard Khury, and sisters Jean (Khury) Driesbach, and BettyJane (Khury) Rehbein, half brother Buddy Guinther, and sister-in-law Bonnie Guinther (Billy). Her daughter Susan (Jarvis) Stevenson, died in 1970.
She is survived by her half brother William (Billy) Guinther of Trail, B.C., children Jan (Jarvis) Chik of Reno, NV and Scott Jarvis of Sonoma, CA, her four grandchildren, Richard Leonard (Anna), Michael Stevenson, Jr, (Lily), Brian Porter (Nozomy), Calvin Stevenson, Joel Jarvis, and Victoria Jarvis; and her great grandchildren, Michael Stevenson III, Brooke Stevenson, Lars Leonard, and her "step" great granddaughters Suzanne Henderson and Alyssa Hodak, and her two great, great grandsons Michael Stevenson IV, and Dominic Stevenson. She is also survived by her nieces, Sammantha Khury, Cathy Lobdell (Bill), Caroline Haaginson (Ray), Patricia (Khury) Lendahl, and Jeannie (Rehbein) Bergerson, Renea Rehbein, and Debbie (Rehbein) Simon (Joe), and nephews Jim Rehbein (Jodi), Ron Rehbein, Roger Rehbein, and Steve Rehbein (Debbie), and several great nieces and nephews, and a few great, great nieces and nephews.
The family will forever be indebted to Jeannette's "adopted" daughter, Georgette Howard, who selflessly cared for Jeannette for the last seven years of our mother's life, living with her and attending to her every need around the clock when Mom could not do so herself.
Jeannette was adamant that no memorial services be held, and due to the pandemic we feel it is best to honor that wish. Many have already expressed their feelings and the family is appreciative. Please continue to share your memories, have intimate celebrations of life, and heal in a way that will bring you happiness. In lieu of flowers please donate to Bristol Hospice Care, Stockton, CA, whose kindness and gentle care helped Mom spend her last few days of life in comfort. She will be dearly missed and forever remembered. If you wish to send condolences please address them to: Jan Chik, 2640 Spearpoint DR, Reno, NV 89509.