There is a sending prayer spoken at the end of the Mass: “Life is short. We don’t have much time to gladden the hearts of those who walk this way with us. So, be swift to love and make haste to be kind.” Jean lived her life this way with an easy grace gladdening the hearts of every one of us who talked with her or spent even a short time in her company.

Jean Morrow, age 77, died Sunday, May 15, 2022, surrounded by family, after a short battle with cancer. Daughter of the late William and Pauline Perry, Jean was born and raised in Cranston, RI. As the oldest sibling, Jean was always a guiding light to her younger brothers and sister. Her smile and leadership touched so many wonderful people but especially at the New England Conservatory, within the Belmont/Watertown S.P.O.R.T, and the Special Olympics. She was a passionate advocate for her daughter Wynne’s independence, ability to travel, work, and excel in competitive swimming. Jean will be remembered so dearly for her lifelong compassion and support for all special needs.

Jean earned her bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts from MacMurray College, her master’s degree in Music History from Smith College, and pursued advanced studies in musicology at New York University. In the early 1970s, Jean joined the staff of New England Conservatory as a catalog librarian and subsequently served as Director of Libraries from 1986 until her retirement in 2014. She was always warm and generous to her staff, whether it was bringing in donuts from Linda’s in Belmont for a staff meeting or taking the library staff out for an annual holiday lunch. Jean was so beloved at NEC that she was selected by her colleagues to be the first ever recipient of the Robert Rachdorf Staff Service award in 1999. Jean advocated for a new library at NEC for many years and played a central role in the planning and development of the Blumenthal Family Library which opened in 2017. The totality of Jean’s contributions to NEC were recognized when she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the institution in 2019.

Outside of NEC, Jean also made significant contributions to the field of music librarianship.

Throughout her professional career, Jean was a generous mentor and an engaged teacher of music librarianship at the Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science, where she taught and guided generations of music librarians. An active member of the Music Library Association (MLA) as a member-at-large on the board of directors, Jean held numerous MLA committee appointments, and served as chair of the New England regional chapter. Her deeply felt commitment to the betterment of the profession of music librarianship came to full flower in her untiring advocacy for, and subsequent leadership of MLA’s Basic Manual Series. The Basic Manual Series produced nine titles under Jean’s chief editorship and has become a mark of MLA’s leadership in the field, fulfilling their mission statement to “promote continuing education and professional development in music librarianship.” As a result of all of Jean’s contributions to the field of music librarianship, she was awarded MLA’s highest honor, the A. Ralph Papakhian Special Achievement Award for 2014.

Jean was also an accomplished organist, having served as an organist at St. John the Evangelist Church for many years. Unlike a lot of musicians, Jean was also an avid sports fan! Like many of us, she had experienced years of disappointment, but eventually Jean was able to see her beloved New England Patriots win 6 Superbowls and the Red Sox win 4 World Series Championships!! Jean herself enjoyed swimming and this was clearly something she passed on to Wynne! Jean was always up for a good time (generally that would include a nice glass of wine or a cocktail!). She certainly knew how to live life to the fullest.

Jean is survived by her loving daughter Wynne, dedicated siblings Gail, Bill, and Bob, their families, as well as many nieces, nephews, and wonderful friends. Jean was predeceased by her partner of 43 years, John Joanou.

Wynne would like everyone to know that she misses and loves her Mom dearly. She would like to thank you all for your continued friendship and would invite everyone to come celebrate Jean’s life at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, 138 Tremont St, Boston, open to the public, on June 29th at 1:30 p.m. for a service with light refreshments to follow at the Cathedral. We are gathering on Wynne’s behalf, printed, unframed photos to add to a memory book. To share your photos digitally, please email them to Jean’s niece Sue at susangvalente at gmail dot com and view the memorial album here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/HS4…

Donations in Jean’s memory can be made to Belmont/Watertown S.P.O.R.T at Friends of Belmont SPORT, 68 Walnut Street, Belmont, 02478 or the Special Olympics of Massachusettes by clicking this link https://support.specialolympi…

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