Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward MageeNews.com a small commission – at no extra cost to you.
Imojean (Jean) Lee Calder
Jean was born in Shivers, MS in 1925. Her parents owned a large farm and grew or made pretty much everything they needed. She was aware of the Great Depression but said she never experienced going without anything that they needed. She had fond memories of growing up in Shivers. She attended and graduated from New Hebron high school.
She turned 16 on the day that Pearl Harbor was bombed. After high school, she and some friends worked in a parachute factory in Columbia, MS during WW2. After the war, she came to California to visit her older sister Lessie who was living with her husband in South Gate, CA. She met Jack there at church and eventually they fell in love and married on April 2, 1948. They bought a home in Norwalk, CA in 1949. They were married for 68 years until Jack passed away in 2016. They raised their three children in that home where Jean lived for almost 73 years until she passed away.
She was active in her community and church. Her husband presided over a stake (7 congregations totaling about 3,000 members) in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in addition to owning and managing a successful kitchen utensils and supply manufacturing business. She was a loving and supportive wife. Jean loved being a mom and loved bringing her family back to Mississippi several times a year to visit her parents, other relatives, and friends. After her children were grown, she would go to work with her husband and help with managing the family business.
She loved everything about Mississippi and would get excited about their next trip to go “home”. Some of her last words included “When are we going to Mississippi?”. She loved to go out to eat and would try almost any kind of food. She also loved to visit Disneyland and other amusement parks near their home in CA. The family would visit their dentist in Hollywood, and she would pack a picnic lunch so that they could sit in the car and look for celebrities. She loved to do almost anything with her daughter Gayle who was also her best friend. They spoke to each other every day during her entire life.
Jean is being buried in the New Hope Cemetery in Shivers, MS on May 14, 2022 at 11:00 am and will be home to stay in her beloved Mississippi. Colonial Chapel Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. 601-849-5031. She preceded in death by husband, Jack Clarence Calder; son, Ronald Lee Calder; parents, Crit Gay Lee and Bessie Mattie Honea; siblings, Lessie, Lollie Ree, Shirley, Kelly, and Pat.
She is survived by her two children, Gayle Lee Tanner (Steve) and Errol Lee Calder (Martha); 15 grandchildren, and 36 great grandchildren; sister, Betsy. She was loved by everyone who knew her and will be sorely missed.
