Mary Jean Deyling (known as Jeanie) passed away on July 5, 2024 at the age of 84 at her home in Lakeside, California. She was born on January 9, 1940 to Robert and Bernadine Gietzen in Grand Rapids, Michigan, delivered by her father because she came faster than the doctor did. The Gietzen family moved to San Diego in the early 1940s and Jeanie remembered sleeping in the living room to be around her adult relatives while they jammed together on their instruments. Jeanie was the fourth of 11 children and liked being from a large family.

The first time Jeanie saw Jim Deyling was at a party at his parents’ house where she said he was leaning against the wall checking out girls. Jeanie was friends with Jim’s sister, DeeDee, and they both needed dates to the school dance because their boyfriends were off at marine training, so they agreed to take each other’s brothers. Jim said he knew he wanted to marry Jeanie about ten seconds after he first kissed her at a dance. Jeanie and Jim were married on January 24, 1959 at St. John of the Cross Church in Lemon Grove and celebrated their 65th anniversary this year.

Jeanie and Jim had a total of eight children, the first seven being born almost one every year and the last baby born after a break of 12 years. In the late 1960s, Abe Mena came from Oaxaca, Mexico to live with the Deylings, too. Jeanie was raised in a big Catholic family and attended Catholic school her whole life, graduating from Rosary High School in 1958. Jeanie and Jim raised their own family attending Mass every Sunday and sent them all through school at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Lakeside.

Jeanie was really creative when it came to holidays and special occasions and the children were always doing crafts. And she would let you use glitter. At Christmas, they would all string popcorn while Jeanie played records in the background and everyone would be singing. For Halloween, Jeanie made the children wonderful costumes over many years, including a trapdoor spider for Jimmy, the Tooth Fairy for Patty, and even a cute bat for Becky. She made all the girls their dresses for special occasions, taking them to the fabric store to pick out the style they loved and sewing for hours. She would make large dinners to feed the family and the odd neighborhood kid and also huge pancake breakfasts with the pancakes in the shapes of trees and animals. Jeanie’s children and grandchildren all remember times they cuddled up to read with her and she would always fall asleep mid sentence.

Jeanie was always her happiest around little kids and raised 9 children, 25 grandchildren, and 32-ish great-grandchildren. She is survived by her husband, Jim Deyling, and children Jim Deyling, Linda Hoffman, Dan Deyling, Bill Deyling, Alix Deyling, Kathleen Deyling, Patricia Provo, Rebecca Prather, and Abe Mena. Her two favorite grandchildren were Andrea and Sarah.

A funeral service is scheduled for July 27th at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Lakeside, California. Rosary at 12:30pm, funeral at 1:00pm, reception immediately following. 

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