Jeanne Elizabeth (Hausner) Usher

Jeanne H. Usher, age 100, died at home, surrounded by her family, on March 1, 2024, following a stroke. Born Elizabeth Jeanne Hausner on September 3, 1923, in Omaha, Nebraska, Jeanne was the second child and only daughter of Charles Hausner and Leah (Lee) McConnell Hausner. While still a babe in arms, Jeanne moved with her parents and older brother, Jack to Washington State. She lived all of her childhood and youth in the greater Seattle area. Jeanne attended the University of Washington, studying Interior Design and Political Science. During World War Two, eager to make her contribution to the war effort, Jeanne enlisted in the U.S. Navy. She was stationed in Hawthorne, Nevada. The location of her Navy service was a cause of some joking in the family because landlocked Nevada is not a place known for its maritime tradition. But then, as now, Hawthorne is the site of a large and important munitions depot. After the war and the end of Jeanne's military service, she returned to the University of Washington and completed her Bachelor of Arts degree.

Always fiercely independent and ready for adventure, Jeanne lived and worked for a time in San Francisco, a city that remained close to her heart and always a favorite place to visit. While living in San Francisco, she responded to a job advertisement from the U.S. Army seeking to staff service clubs for U.S. Army enlisted men serving in occupied Germany. The job required a three-year commitment. Jeanne got the position and moved to the scenic and historic university city of Heidelberg. She described her years living in Germany as a time of great fun, excitement and opportunity. When not working, she and her friends traveled extensively throughout Europe. It was during these years in Germany that Jeanne met her husband, U.S. Army officer and native New Yorker Thomas J. Usher on a blind date at the Bremerhaven Officer's Club. After returning to the United States and marrying, Tom's army career took them to postings at Fort Meade, Maryland and at the United Nations in New York City. Their two children, daughters Terry Jeanne and Karen M. (Mollie), were born in New York. The family moved to Bainbridge Island when Tom retired from active duty in 1960.

Both Jeanne and Tom instilled in their daughters a love of travel and a keen interest in the wider world. When Mollie's two children were young, Jeanne accompanied Mollie and the kids on countless road trips throughout the United States. They even had a song about their adventures together, "On the Road Again with Grandma!" Also, Jeanne made many memorable trips, both within the U.S. and abroad, with Terry and her husband, Doug. After Tom died in 2001, Jeanne continued to travel and enjoy new experiences. She made what turned out to be her final trip in November of 2023 when she accompanied Mollie, Terry and Doug on the cherished annual family visit to Victoria, BC.

Jeanne is survived by her daughters Terry Jeanne Holt and Karen M. (Mollie) Bogardus; son-in-law Peter D. (Doug) Holt; her grandchildren Tanner Bogardus and Danielle Scheibe and their spouses, Kristin Bogardus and Ian Scheibe; and great-grandchildren Beckett and Brooks Bogardus and Willow Mae Scheibe; and by Jeanne's beloved dog, the loyal and loving Oscar.

There will be a Celebration of Life for Jeanne on Saturday, June 8, 2024. The event will be held in her beautiful garden, weather permitting. Details will be forthcoming.

Memorial contributions may be made to Island Volunteer Caregivers (www.ivcbainbridge.org)