Jean Givens

     Jean Givens was born Elinor Jean to William (Bill) and Alma Gray on October 16, 1933, in Akron Ohio. She was the second of four girls. Christine Tesseneer, Joyce Daugherty, and Ellen Mayfield have all gone to heaven ahead of her.     

     She is survived by husband Jack, daughters Marilyn Freiman (living in Port Orchard, WA) and Barbara Hanada (living in Ibaraki, Japan), sons-in-law Mike and Nao, and grandchildren Kai, Maki, Gabriel, Koji, Toshi and Emi; nieces and nephews, including Linda Stevenson, John Tesseneer, Sheri Bridges, and their families. She also had many other "adopted" children whom she loved dearly. Among those are Daniel and Isabel Chu, who called Jack and Jean their “American Parents”.     

     When she was young, her family moved to Glendale, Arizona. As a teenager there she invited Christ into her life. At the age of 18, She moved to Hawthorne, California to cook and clean for her father as he began a new job. Her mom and two younger sisters followed after the home was sold in Arizona.     

     In Hawthorne she met John (Jack) Givens at the Church of the Nazarene. One night after church he asked if she wanted a ride in his Cadillac. He drove a 1939 Chevy Business Coupe at the time. They were married on February 8, 1955. They lived in Los Angeles County while Jack attended college and moved to Escondido in 1964 when Jack started teaching for the Escondido School District.   

     One of the many fond memories her daughters have is their mother’s love of the ocean. This was evident in their family day trips to the beach every summer, especially Moonlight Beach in Encinitas. There were many days spent boogie boarding, walking, and barbequing on the beach. In later years, Jack and Jean would travel up the coast to visit family and friends who lived in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. And to celebrate their 50th anniversary, Jack and Jean took an Alaskan Cruise.   

     Jean loved the Lord and opened her heart and home to many people over the years, including international students. She also enjoyed participating in Bible study groups, most recently FROGS and Thursday Lunch Bunch. She also served in Christian Women's Club in the 1960’s-1970’s.     

     Jean began her working career as a bank teller and bookkeeper. She loved staying at home to raise her daughters but went back to work part time when they were older as a bookkeeper for The Wardrobe (a men’s clothing store) and Walker Scotts Department Store, both in Escondido. She was part of Emmanuel Faith Community Church where she served as a deaconess and worked as a bookkeeper until she retired. She returned later to volunteer in the bookkeeping department at the church.     

     Cross-stitching was a skill Jean was very good at. She applied the same precision to it as she did to her bookkeeping. If you were to look at the back side of her projects, they would often look as neat as the front itself. Many of her pictures are displayed around her family and friends' homes.     

     In her own home, Jean loved to display pictures of family and friends, her own framed cross stitch pictures as well as Thomas Kinkade artwork.     

     Jean also loved baseball and softball. The San Diego Padres was her favorite pro-team. She was such a good scorekeeper for Jack's senior softball team that the umpires often deferred to her for statistics. One of Jack’s softball teams traveled around the United States and Canada for tournaments, indulging Jean in one of her other passions - traveling.     

     This next spring when you see tulips, remember Jean. Tulips were her favorite flowers.     

     (sigh)