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Jeanne Caroline Cameron (née Finnegan)

Jeanne Caroline Cameron (née Finnegan)

CRYSTAL FALLS — Jeanne Caroline Cameron (née Finnegan), 90, passed away peacefully on Sunday morning in the presence of her beloved son, Robert, at the Crystal Falls Medicare Facility.

Jeanne was born July 24, 1929, in Caspian, to Florence (née Olson) and Charles Finnegan and was later joined by brother Lowell (Kay) Finnegan.

Jeanne was a graduate of Stambaugh High School, Class of 1947, and earned an education in hairdressing in Duluth, Minn.

Jeanne ultimately became a telephone operator in Iron River and was transferred to Highland Park, Ill., where she met Robert Clyde Cameron Jr., who was stationed at Glenview Naval Base. The two were married in 1956 in Highland Park and had their first child, Lorrie, in 1957.

The family was transferred to Cuba, then Norfolk, Va., where their second daughter, Bonnie was born. From there they went to Albuquerque, N.M., then to Adak, Alaska, where their last child, Robert, joined the family.

The family retired from the service to Mundelein, Ill., where Jeanne became the director of the ceramics department for The Klingberg Schools for the Handicapped in Wauconda, Ill., and later directed a ceramics program at the Grove School in Lake Forest, Ill. Jeanne found unparalleled joy and fulfillment in working with people with special needs and brought out the remarkable artists in all of them. Jeanne was an unheralded pioneer in the field of special education. After her husband’s death in 1989, Jeanne found her way back to Iron River via Atlanta, Ga., to enjoy 20 years in her own home on Minckler Street and finally at Victorian Heights in Crystal Falls.

An active church member in the Mundelein UMC, Mt. Carmel UMC, John Wesley UMC, and the First Presbyterian Church of Iron County, Jeanne enjoyed serving people at every turn.

Jeanne was blessed by Lorrie and Pekka Ignatius and their three daughters, Jessica (Douglas) Hamilton, Linnea (Thomas) Porter and Nora Ignatius, and two great-grandsons, Lucas James Porter and Andrew Cameron Hamilton, and son, Robert and his partner, Scott Samson, family members, Lowell (Kay) Finnegan, Scott Finnegan, Wendi (Terry) Kamlade, Brian Finnegan, Zachary (Darci) Hagemeister and their four children, and Luke (Kristen) Hagemeister, who were tickled by her outlook and sense of humor which was intact until the end of her life. A multitude of friends and extended family will remember a woman of style and personality and will be forever changed by her presence in their lives.

Jeanne was preceded in death by her parents, Florence and Charles; husband, Robert Jr.; and daughter, Bonnie.

A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 24 at the First Presbyterian Church of Iron County: 525 W. Adams Street in Iron River.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Iron County.

You may leave a condolence or tribute for Jeanne’s family online at www.JacobsFuneralHomes.com.

The family has chosen the Jacobs-Plowe Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Crystal Falls, to honor Jeanne’s legacy of life.