Marjean Pettis Jondrow

Marjean Pettis Jondrow Marjean was a woman who loved to take charge and get things done. In that spirit, she wrote her own obituary. Read and enjoy: Marjean Pettis Jondrow died on April 9, 2010, of cancer. Although she lived in Berkeley, California, Madison, Wisconsin, Tucson, Arizona and Raleigh, North Carolina, she always said she was an Oregonian. Marjean was born on May 19, 1922, to Marshall and Jettie Pettis in Portland, Oregon. Because her father worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad, the family moved often, and Marjean attended eight elementary schools and three high schools. In 1938, at Berkeley High School, she met James Jondrow when they were both working on the yearbook. They were married for 66 years and had four children, Jim, Janet, Jean and Mary. Once her children were old enough, Marjean completed a BA in Journalism and an MA in Mass Communications, attending both the University of California- Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was inducted into Mortar Board, the national honorary women's journalism sorority, as well as numerous other journalism honor societies. Writing and communications were her profession and her passion. Her career included being the Public Information Director of the University of Wisconsin Faculty and Student Memorial Union, Senior Editor at the Institute for Research on Poverty at UW-Madison, and Public Information Director of the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Cancer Society. She also created and appeared in a television program, the "Smart Shopper," in Madison, Wisconsin. After retiring, she wrote a winter visitor's column for the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson, Arizona. A major accomplishment was organizing a book drive for Native American students in the Indian Oasis Baboquivari School District in Arizona that resulted in huge outpourings of books and magazine subscriptions to enrich the students' education. Marjean was open minded and believed passionately in social justice and higher education for all people. She was a feminist who said that every woman should be able to support herself. She loved women who were "gutsy broads." She advocated pro-choice legislation and was a life-long supporter of Planned Parenthood. She especially enjoyed reading about diverse partnerships such as same-sex marriages or unusual cultural celebrations in the Sunday New York Times. After Jim's death in May, 2009, students from Jim's church, the University Presbyterian Church at the UW-Madison, said that Marj and Jim's marriage and family life had been a role model for others. Marj was a strong woman who led the way for other women, in her work in Presbyterial, in her career and in her family. She loved adventure. In 1950, she took two small children to Edinburgh, Scotland, while Jim did his PhD, and brought back three, after Jean was born. In 1989, Jim and Marj went to Australia and began their study of astrophotography. In 2000, she went to stay in a small village in Northern India and also saw the Taj Mahal. Her radiance lit up a room. She loved her children intensely. She showed her creativity in projects such as sewing unusual costumes or raising pollywogs to be frogs in an aquarium. She is survived by her four children, James (Luz) Jondrow of Alexandria, Virginia, Janet (Robert) Weiss of Raleigh, North Carolina, Jean Gendreau (Kim McCluskey) of Ely, Minnesota, and Mary Jondrow (Jim Ostrem) of Tucson, Arizona. She was also intensely proud of her eight grandchildren, Matt (Catherine) Jondrow of Newport News, Virginia, Jessie Jondrow of Chicago, Jenny Weiss of Brooklyn, New York, Saima Akhtar (Brian Behnke) of Albany, New York, Michaela and Magdalena Cerrina of Madison, Wisconsin and Jonny Ostrem of Vancouver, British Columbia and Jackie Ostrem of Edmonton, Alberta. A Memorial Service was held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 11, 2010 at Magnolia Glen Senior Living Community, and a memorial concert of classical music will be held at a later date. She was preceded in death by her husband, her sister, her parents and two grandsons. The family would like to thank Hospice of Wake County for the fine care and assistance they gave Marjean and her family during her final illness. Memorials may be made to Sun in My Heart Vietnamese Children's Fund (13431 Bear Paw Trl, Ely MN 55731), where 100 percent of the contributions go directly to the education of poor Vietnamese children in schools north of Hanoi.