Jeannie Helen (Feber) Sanders died on Thursday, April 16, 2026 after a short time in hospice, and a long, brave and graceful fight with Multiple Sclerosis, which had been a part of her life since she was 18 years old.

Jeannie was born in 1951 in Schenectady, New York and moved to Los Alamos, New Mexico when she was 5 years old with her parents Olive (Bathrick) and Dr. Roy C. Feber, siblings Lynne, David, Rory, and Mark, and Jeannie’s niece Ginger. After high school, Jeannie attended the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque where she met Jerry Sanders, who would become her husband in 1976.

Through the unfair hurdles Jeannie often faced in her life, she fulfilled her dream of becoming a mother in 1978 with her first child Olivia, followed quickly by Holly, Jordan, Austin and finally Adam in 1988. Jeannie also thought of Michael Loneman, a son Jerry had from a previous relationship, as another child of hers. Though the children didn’t grow up together, Michael remains a cherished part of the family.

In 1989 with the children aged 1 through 10 years old, Jeannie and Jerry packed up an ugly orange Cadillac, along with the family dog Rle and drove cross-country from New Mexico to Maine to eventually put down roots in Kennebunk. Jeannie and Jerry eventually got divorced, but they stayed an ever-present part of each other's lives. Jerry would leave the state from time to time, but always returned to Jeannie.

As her children got older, Jeannie often played a motherly role in their friends' lives as well. Many young people passed through Jeannie's home, and even when there was barely enough food or money for her own family, she found a way to feed any young person who was hungry, give any kid a safe place to rest for a while, and love other people’s children as her own. Just a few of these very special people who Jeannie took care of include: Michael Eaton, Alex Bevis, Joe Distefano, Jillian Mankin, Ben Bushman, Mary Burns, Paul Russo, and Amanda Flowers.

After living in Tennessee for several years, Jerry moved back to Maine in 2010 to take care of Jeannie as it became more difficult for her to care for herself. Their kids often joked that Jeannie and Jerry were “best friends who couldn’t stand each other,” though they sometimes bickered and argued, they had a bond deeper than divorce papers, stronger than geographical distance. In the final days of Jeannie’s life, Jerry was at her bedside each day, with Penelope, her beloved Dachshund right beside him.

In 2007 Jeannie’s youngest child Adam died at 19 years old. The two shared a love of red wine, smoking cigarettes and sad Leonard Cohen songs, and in this very hard time for her family, it brings joy and calm knowing she is finally reunited with Adam. Jeannie’s greatest joy in life was being a mother, and to know one of her children was there to greet her on the other side brings peace beyond measure. Jeannie is survived by her children, Olivia Loneman, Holly Selva, Jordan Martin and Austin Sanders; all her grandchildren, Jasper Sanders, Lucy Martin, Esme Selva, Roxy Loneman-Meyer, Fletcher Martin, Valentino Selva and Caleb Martin, her husband Jerry Sanders, step-son Michael Loneman, sister Lynne Bulgaris, brothers Rory and Mark Feber, nieces Ginger Kenyon and Carol Lynne Barto, and nephews George Bulgaris and Tristan Feber.

Though our hearts are broken, we are so full of the love she poured into each of us.

Jeannie will join her parents and son at Hope Memorial Cemetery in Kennebunk, Maine on her 75th birthday, August 15, 2026. A celebration of life is planned prior. 

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