Dear eClub Members,

It is with great sadness that I need to inform that on November 12, 2025, our dear friend, Jean Hamilton has unexpectedly died.  Her illness started out with flu symptoms that progressed into strep throat, then ended with complications from chronic bronchitis. 

Jean was the most energized Rotary person I know.  She was only 75, but you wouldn’t know it with the lifestyle she led; golfing almost daily and working at a sports store late at night.  But her real passions were Rotary and visiting the Heard Museum in Phoenix where she planned on being a volunteer.

Jean has been in Rotary longer than I have known her, but with her energy, she was the most active Rotarian I have ever known!  If there was a job to be done, she would volunteer; if there was an emergency vacancy on the Board, she would volunteer.  When our club joined the Durango Rotary Club’s project to provide and install solar light to Navajo people without electricity within the Navajo Nation, Jean jumped right in and volunteered. 

Doing this led us to another project within the Navajo Nation; Children literacy, which involved acquiring a grant from District 5110 which was given to Chinle Planting Hope to provide a children’s book mobile and book vending machine in Chinle.  She and I went to Chinle last year to help install solar lights, Jean did all the driving, and we had a great time helping with the solar project and helping with children’s books.  Shen then returned around a couple weeks later to do a follow-up on the books and solar projects at no cost to the eClub. 

Jean just recently informed the eClub Board that she was going to step down from her position as Secretary and concentrate on her upcoming position at the Heard Museum, which we were all excited for her to move on to, but she wasn’t going to leave Rotary entirely, we knew she would be there to help out if needed.

Jean is going to be thoroughly missed, not just by us, but by all the people she knew in her work, golf and life.

God bless you Jean for being a part of my/our life!

Yours in Rotary,
Jackie, State of Jefferson Rotary President 2024-2025

In Jean's Words 

 When and where were you born?
Born in Harrisonburg VA - 1950                 

Where do live now & have you lived in the past?
I now live in Arizona .....have had a house here for some time and decided to leave Oregon and retire here.             

What are the most important things in your life?
My health, my family, my volunteer work ..... my critters.                 

Significant life experiences:
I lost my first husband when he was 52 ..... a professional golfer who left us too early.                 

Career(s) highlights:
I was lucky enough to be a Director of the Dallas Museum of Art in Dallas, TX. 
Love to read, play golf, cook, wine tasting and I am a Master Gardener.                 

Your most meaningful Rotary experiences: 
We used to house Rotary exchange students for a weekend when they met in Newport OR - we always had a boy stay at our house
and it was great watching them interact with each other.... I learned so much.                 

Your Rotary passions, interests, skills etc.:
Giving back is very important to me and helping others is critical..... Rotary does great work and you find friends while you are making a difference.                 

Your expectations of this club:
If the eClub did not exist, I could not be a Rotarian... I am grateful for this club.