Jeanne E. Blackburn

Jeanne Ellen Blackburn, a resident of East Pikeland Township, Pennsylvania, passed away on October 28, 2023.

Jeanne was born in DeKalb, Illinois, on October 10, 1944. Her parents were James and Gladys (Hicks) McCann.

After marrying Michael Neal Blackburn, Jeanne embarked with Mike on the great adventure of life, crisscrossing the country and raising 3 sons, Shawn, Derek and Adam. Initially the couple traveled via Route 66 to Riverside, California. There Jeanne worked in the data processing group for the Riverside School System, where she learned to program and run the Systems IBM computers. Jeanne loved all that Southern California offered, including the mountains, the deserts, and the ocean, and weekends were frequently spent exploring Newport Beach and the surrounding cities and beaches. While living in Riverside, Jeanne embarked on her first ever camping trip. Jeanne and Mike and another couple drove to the eastern side of the Sierra mountains and set up camp on the slopes of Mt. Whitney at an elevation of about 6,000 feet. It was February, and at night the Milky Way stood out in the clear and frosty sky. Jeanne was so excited. Many more camping and hiking outings would follow.

With son Shawn, Jeanne and Mike moved to the “East Bay” across from San Francisco. Her second son, Derek, was born in Oakland, and before he learned to walk, he was taken camping in the national parks in California. Jeanne always loved the beauty and joy of hiking in the Sierras and in the parks in the Berkeley hills and Napa, Sonoma and Marin Counties. Yosemite, in any season, was a favorite.

From Berkeley, California, Jeanne, Mike and the two boys moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, where the couple’s third son, Adam, was born. The family attended the Broadmoor Presbyterian Church, and there Jeanne served as a Ruling Elder. Jeanne added elements of Southern charm and cooking to her repertoire of skills. Guests were always welcomed in her home, and she once hosted an entire visiting professional bicycle team for a weekend as they competed in a local race.

Eventually, Jeanne and her four boys moved to Pennsylvania where they bought a new house, located between Phoenixville and the Village of Kimberton. Jeanne turned that house into a wonderful loving home. Jeanne was especially active in the First Presbyterian Church of Phoenixville. She was a member of the choir and served many terms as an Elder, Sunday School teacher and chair of or member of numerous church committees. A driving force for her was always a commitment to social equality and social justice. Citizen Advocacy of Chester County was an organization that she participated in for several years.

Jeanne’s favorite activities were working on craft projects with her grandchildren. Also, many evenings were spent reading stories to the younger grandkids. This brought back memories of sitting around a campfire in Yosemite as Jeanne read The Hobbit to our young boys. Fall weekend outings with friends at French Creek State Park were an annual event she organized for many years.

Jeanne is survived by her husband of 59 years, Mike, her three sons, Shawn and his wife Cindy Lopez Blackburn, Derek, and Adam and his wife Ashley Majcher Blackburn. To her loving grandchildren, Kyle, Maya, Dakota, Lilly, AJ, Madden and Mila, Jeanne will always be known as Mimi. She is also survived by her sister Nita McCann.

A memorial service will be held at 1:00 PM on Friday, December 22, at the First Presbyterian Church of Phoenixville, 145 Main Street, Phoenixville, PA 19460.

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to Citizen Advocacy of Chester County, https://citizenadvocacycc.org or to The National Scoliosis Foundation, https://www.scoliosis.org/.