Jean Battlo

Emily Dickenson once wrote, "I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it, until it begins to shine."
So was the philosophy of JEAN BATTLO. We now have lost one of West Virginia's most prized authors.
Teresa Jean Battlo of Kimball, WV passed away peacefully on Saturday, August 3, 2024 at the age of 85. She was an avant-garde artist whose life touched our world with an abounding and endless love of God, family, peace, the arts, and life itself. Jean was a great author, an educator, a playwright, a cat lover, a fabulous gardener, a staunch Catholic, a sensitive soul, a voice of reason and encouragement, and also a lover of a good martini. Her sense of humor and her wit will truly be missed by family, friends, and her beloved West Virginians.
Jean Battlo was a playwright and local historian who grew up in her beloved West Virginia. She was preceded in death by her loving parents, Fortunato (Battaglia) Battlo and Concetta Maria Roschelli, immigrants from Calabria, Italy, and her siblings, Frank, Dominick, Angeline, Melly, Kat, Tony, and Mary. Jean is survived a plethora of nieces and nephews who live across the world which greatly displeased Jean. Her dream was a family compound where no one ever left her reach.
Jean was adamant about looking a person in the eyes, introducing herself, and conversing cordially, often on a level few could emulate. "That is just how you treat people," she would say. Every soul had purpose in her eyes.
Jean's intellect was beyond reproach. A true lover of learning, Jean graduated from Welch High School. She earned a B.A. and an M.A. at Marshall University. There she studied history, drama, literature, philosophy, and of course education. This was all good, but not enough for this consummate learner. She spent summers studying at William and Mary honing her knowledge of the humanities.
Jean began her teaching career in McDowell County where she taught at Iaeger High School and Mount View High School. Being awarded the McDowell Teacher of the Year title was impressive, but Jean's love was her students, not the accolades she accumulated. Jean's most treasured classes were drama and the humanities. She related to students on their level and gave them her undivided attention. The community came to know Jean's reach through the plays her students performed. Her community reach went far beyond the classroom.
Friends and family encouraged Jean to write for a local theatre group. Thus, her play A Highly Successful West Virginia Business was born. Centered on the loss of jobs in the coal industry, a family takes up a mortuary business to make ends meet. The play had the audience in stitches. With nearly a dozen plays under her belt, Jean was often contacted by theatre groups who wanted to perform the plays. Her play, #8, was selected as a finalist by Camel-Sea in 1990, and was optioned by Off-Broadway Stage Arts in New York City. The play centered around a Jewish family living just before the Holocaust. It was a finalist in the Eugene O'Neill National Playwright's Competition. She wrote plays about Pearl S. Buck and Lizzie Borden.
Her most well-known work is Terror on the Tug, a play centered around the Sid Hatfield murders and performed at the Globe Theater in Keystone. The theatre was built just for Jean as a place to bring live dramas to her beloved county. It was a replica of Shakespear's Globe Theater in London. Often performances were in McDowell County, others across the state and country, and one was even performed in Germany.
In later years, Jean Battlo, with great support from Senators Keith Wagner and John P. Fanning, found funding to build the McArts Ampitheater. Jean frequently sought funding for her goals with the West Virginia Division of Arts, Culture, and History. She was just this year awarded a grant to continue her work with McArts. McArts was founded in 1980 by Jean Battlo, Irene Ernest, Moe Seay, and Lisa Colombo. McArts is one of Jean's proudest accomplishments which, to this day, brings the arts to McDowell County. McArts was formed as a non profit organization to bring the arts to McDowell County and to nurture local artists and performers. Her mission was to rid our world of the hillbilly stereotype and teach others that her county, her home, her state, was rich in history and culture with deep roots held in the hearts of its people. Jean also co-founded Coal Camp Creations. The business, located in the building her father built, made coal figurines from McDowell County coal that were sold at Tamarac and local artisan events.
Jean Battlo was instrumental in directing the $1.5 million restoration project in Kimball of the Houston Coal Company Store, perhaps the best preserved of more than 100 company stores that once operated in the coal camps of McDowell County during the first half of the 20th century.
Jean's talent was not just as a playwright. She wrote poetry, short stories, historical fiction, and is most well known for her book, Pictorial History of McDowell County. Her work is published by McClain Printing Company of Parsons, West Virginia.
Numerous accolades were bestowed on Jean Battlo. She was a Writer-in-Residence with the Beckley-based Theater West Virginia, Italian Woman of the Year and Business Woman of the Year for West Virginia. To Jean's delight, she even served as the Grand Groundhog Watcher at the Groundhog Day Breakfast at Concord University just to name a few. Jean was interviewed on-camera for the 2016 documentary The Mine Wars seen on PBS and was often called for interviews entailing local history. On the History Channel, Jean was interviewed for "Hillbilly: The Real Story." This was a documentary narrated by Billy Ray Cyrus.
Jean Battlo was not a person that one article can describe. Her creativity, passions, and love of God, life, and family were endless. She touched many lives through her teaching, writing, and community service. Her mark is made. Her legacy is sealed. Her journey on earth is done. She now lives with the loved ones she has longingly mourned, and watches over the loving family that was her earthly treasure. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, "We are ever dying to one world and being born into another.
The family will receive friends from 10:30 to 1 p.m., on Friday 9th at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Powhatan, WV. A mass of Christian Burial will follow at 1 p.m., with Very Rev. Sebastian E. Devasya, V.E. officiating. Burial will follow directly after mass at Woodlawn Memorial Park. Nephews will serve as pall bearers.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Jean Battlo's memory can be made to Sacred Heart Church, 35508 Coal Heritage Road, Northfork, WV 24868 or the Sacred Heart Food Pantry at the same address. Memorial donations can also be sent to the McDowell Commission on Aging, 725 Stewart St., Welch, WV 24801.