Jeannette Marie Samples

1939 - 2022

Jeannette Marie (Caress) Samples

Jeannette Marie Caress Samples of Perrysburg passed away at the age of 82 on August 25, 2022 at Hospice of Northwest Ohio in Perrysburg, Ohio. She was predeceased by her husband, Gary Ross Samples, her parents, Arthur Edward Caress and Helen Williams Caress, and her nephew, Peter Newkirk Caress. She is survived by her daughters, Elizabeth Samples Ury and Julie Rebekah Samples, her granddaughter, Hannah Christine Ury, her brother and sister-in-law, Edward and Virginia Caress, their children and their spouses, Dr. James Caress and Dr. Leanne Willis, and Rebecca and Troy Carter, and their daughter-in-law, Dr. Sunitha Venugopal.

Jeannette (Jan) was born on September 15, 1939 in Columbus, Nebraska and lived in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Rochester, New York before moving to Ohio where she obtained her undergraduate degree from Baldwin-Wallace College. She met Gary, her husband of fifty-four years, at Bowling Green State University, where she obtained her Master's degree in Education.

Jan began her 30+ years of teaching in the Elyria and North Ridgeville City School Districts. She started teaching at Maumee Valley Country Day School in 1967 and retired from there in 2003, taking a short break in the 1970s when her daughters were born. While at Maumee Valley, she was a Dream Odyssey Recipient in 2001 and received the Outstanding Teacher Award in 2002.

While Jan loved teaching, she also loved other activities and was active in her church (First Church in Perrysburg), the Way Public Library, with a local walking group, and with several book clubs.

With her husband Gary, Jan traveled to all fifty states and to over fifty countries. A few favorite trips included biking along the Danube river, cycling in France (even disassembling and reassembling her own bicycle!), traveling in Austria, visiting Ecuador including the Galapagos Islands with her daughters and granddaughter, taking the Alaska State Ferry with her granddaughter, traveling to Niagara Falls with her family, trips to Nebraska with family and friends, and countless family canoeing and camping trips. She was a loving, supportive wife and mother, a doting grandmother, a skilled, empathetic teacher, and a faithful recorder of our family's heritage and history.

Interment at Fort Meigs Cemetery and a Celebration of Life will occur at a later date. In lieu of flowers or gifts, please consider a donation to the Way Public Library in Perrysburg, the First Church in Perrysburg, or the Hospice of Northwest Ohio. Arrangements were entrusted to Witzler-Shank-Walker Funeral Home, Perrysburg (419-874-3133).

Condolences may be made online to the family at www.walkerfuneralhomes.com.