Jean Spedaliere, 90, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, passed away on November 24, 2023. Jean was born to William and Nellie Jacobson. She had siblings William and Mae.

At a young age Jean took God’s offer of forgiveness through faith in Jesus and for the rest of her life sought God’s will for her. In high school in 1951 she earned Valedictorian. The principal read her speech and told her to remove mentions of God. She refused. The enemy of our souls lost, again.

For her first job in 1951 she scored very high on a test and obtained a security clearance for classified work. She married Dennis Mitchell that year, and months later he was drafted and was sent to Japan.

Jean learned how to play the piano and accordion, and with her beautiful voice loved to sing in a church choir. She loved gardening, and usually had a minimum of a few pots of plants almost everywhere she lived.

Jean had a daughter Deborah and a son Wayne. Jean’s second marriage was to Donald Spedaliere in 1972. She worked for the Piscataway board of education and retired in 1993, after becoming a widow that year. Some years later, when she lived in Florida, she was a volunteer secretary to pastor Slayden MacGregor and wife Kathleen.

Jean became an expert at making and printing birthday and holiday cards with personal pictures and blessings, and loved to send them to family and friends. She had several prayer boards with pictures of family, friends and national and world leaders.

At 90, not knowing how long she had left, she decided to celebrate her birthday almost every month, sometimes with triple chocolate birthday cake.

Jean is survived by her son Wayne Mitchell and daughter-in-law Kathleen; step-son Donald Spedaliere and his wife Louise; step-son Michael Spedaliere and his wife Karen; brother-in-law Ron Frazee; sister-in-law Marge McAdam Jacobson; granddaughter Melissa; Spedaliere step grandchildren: Michael Jr., Christopher, Jessica and Erica; nephews: David Mitchell, Bill Jacobson, Frazee’s Jim, David and Timothy; Mitchell nieces: Colleen, Lori and Denise; and Jana Jacobson Adamczyk.

She fought the good fight of faith and finished the race. Now she is in the arms of her savior. She will be greatly missed.

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