Jean Marks

Jean Marks, 93, of Eastchester, NY, died on May 2 while in hospice care at White Plains Hospital.
She was born in New York, NY on March 14, 1923, to Rose and Joe Loeffler. The family moved for a short time to Plainfield, NJ, but the majority of Jean's youth was spent living at 12 Parkway East, in Mount Vernon, with her parents and her younger sister, Sonny.
Jean attended Ohio State University, and graduated with a degree in English. There she met Myron (Mickey) Marks, and they were married in 1946. The couple lived briefly in Long Beach, NY, and then on Gramatan Avenue in Mount Vernon, but in 1951 they moved to a new development on Hickory Hill Road in Eastchester, and there she lived until her death, sixty-five years later. Mickey died in 1985.
In the sixties, Jean went back to school, secured her masters from Barnard College, and began a career as an English teacher at Eastchester Junior High, a career that lasted over twenty years. She was a voracious reader, an avid theater-goer, an enthusiastic traveler, a persistent golfer, and a lover of sunshine.
After retiring from teaching, Jean began to pursue her lifelong dream of being a writer. She became a regular columnist for local publications such as The Eastchester Town Report, writing on serious topics such as widowhood, but also offering wry observations on aging and language. Some of her columns were published in The New York Times and other journals around the country.
Jean leaves behind two sons, Ken and Rick; Maureen, a devoted daughter-in-law; loving nephews Rob and Don Zimelis; a granddaughter, Michele; dozens of dear friends; and hundreds of former students who remember her fondly.
The family would especially like to thank Roxanne George and Rose Ofori, who provided extraordinarily loving care to Jean in her final years.
Funeral services will be this Saturday, May 7, at noon, at Ballard-Durand, 2 Maple Avenue in White Plains. An informal lunch will follow.