Jeanette M. Long

Jeanette Meredith Long, age 98, passed away peacefully of natural causes the afternoon of June 3rd 2021 at Mercy Ascension Hospital in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Jeanette was born March 3rd, 1923, in Waukegan, Illinois, the 5th child and 4th daughter of Clinton Dewitt and Louise Spoor. She graduated from Waukegan Township High School in 1941, where she was on the Girls Gymnastic team. The family believes she was the last surviving member of that graduating class.

Jeanette was a proud member of the Greatest Generation. During the Big One she worked as a payroll clerk at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina. In June of 1945 she married high school sweetheart, then TSgt USMC, Donald G. Long, upon his return from the Solomon Islands. They returned to Waukegan in 1946 where they lived a comfortable and active life together. Donald died in 1999.

Jeanette returned to the workforce in the1960’s, employed as a bookkeeper for David Stiles Accounting until her retirement in 1993.

Jeanette was a talented seamstress. She was very proud of the clever Halloween costumes she created for generations of grateful children. She always made herself available to any friend or neighbor who came around looking for last minute repairs or alterations.
Jeanette ran a busy, cheerful and entertaining household. She had a flair for throwing memorable dinner parties and played Euchre on a championship level. She always looked forward to White Sox Spring Training in St. Petersburg and jaunts to Las Vegas, and later to Oneida, where she had a knack for winning. It is unlikely that there was mystery novel written that she did not read.

In 2009 Jeanette moved from Waukegan to Oshkosh in order to be with her family. She was a die-hard Chicago Bears fan and there wasn’t anything anyone could do about it.
Jeanette was a wonderful, loving, and inspiring woman, unflappable in a crisis, who moved through her life with a nameless ease and confidence and sense of humor that will be remembered by everyone.

Jeanette was preceded in death by her parents, sisters and brothers-in-law, Alice ( Dayton ) Nance, Gertrude ( Alex ) Paul, Isabel ( Thomas ) Gavagan, Elizabeth ( Raymond ) Hyde, her brother, Charles and son-in-law, Stephen Jansen.

Jeanette is survived by her two children, Mary Alice Jansen, Daniel J. ( Anne ) Long, grandson Daniel P. ( Andrea ) Jansen, and great-granddaughter, Ryan Jansen and many nieces and nephews.

Per Jeanette’s wishes there will be no formal service or memorial.