Jean H. Whitney

Jean Whitney of Southport, CT, mother of daughters Neile Whitney of Poolesville, MD and Daren Stevenson of Chevy Chase, MD, and sons Alex Whitney of New York, NY and Toby Whitney of Seattle, WA, died peacefully on Thursday, August 18, 2016 following a brief illness. A memorial service will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church in Southport, CT on Saturday, August 27 at 10 a.m. On August 27, 1934 Jean was born in Carlsbad, New Mexico to George Robert Harris and Thelma Revenger Harris. She grew up in Denver, CO. She attended Graland Country Day School, the Kent School for Girls, both in Denver, CO, and graduated from the Dana Hall School in Wellesley, MA and from Connecticut College with a degree in Art with Distinction in her major. Jean has lived in Fairfield and Southport since 1961 and was a past member of the Junior Leagues of New York and Eastern Fairfield County. She was also a member of the Fairfield Garden Club and past member of The Pequot Yacht Club. She served on the board of directors of the Junior League, the Fairfield Garden Club, The Bridgeport Mental Health Association, the Rehabilitation Center of Southeastern Connecticut, the Bridgeport Zoological Society, Planned Parenthood, and the Greater Bridgeport Symphony. Jean was a Girl Scout leader, chaired the Junior League Garden Market and the Greens Farms Academy Arts Festival, and served as class agent for her class at Dana Hall since 1952. An active member of Trinity Church, Southport, Jean served on the Altar Guild, the Property Committee, the Prayer Shawl Ministry, the Stewardship Committee, co-chaired the Merrie Faire for five years, was actively involved in the Trinity website development in 2010, designed and installed the Memorial Garden in 1990, and acted as producer for Trinity's productions of Noye's Fludde in 2002 and the Boar's Head Festival in 2007. Jean not only worked as a landscape designer beginning in 1975 until her recent illness, but also led tours of private English gardens--the only American to do so under the auspices of the National Gardens Scheme. In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Pequot Library or to the Dana Hall School, Wellesley, MA.