Jean Frances Mendenhall Crowell was born May 27, 1917 in Sac City, Iowa and died December 31, 2007 in Pasadena, California.  Between those dates and locations, she lived with her husband of 67 years, Eugene Crowell (SPHS '35), in Lebanon, Africa and Venezuela before returning to Pasadena where they both had grown up.

Jean designed, and with her husband, built their home in the historic Arroyo section.  Jean lived an aesthetic, spirited, energetic life and personified the joy of living, a choice she often said she made every day.  She was highly successful in a number of fields including fashion design, oil painting, sketching and interior design, the vocation she was still pursuing at the time of her death.  Among many other accomplishments, Jean dressed a number of Hollywood stars and was credited with creating peon-style white cotton pants for Bullock's Wilshire in the 1950s.  With business associate Meg Young, she owned and operated the first high-end boutique on Sunset Boulevard devoted exclusively to children, called Bambola as well as the chic kitchen-oriented specialty store Skillets.

Jean will be remembered as the embodiment of grace and simple elegance.  She was a loving, supportive wife, aunt, and friend, with a delightful sense of humor and a lightness of being.  Jean is survived by her husband; and several generations of nieces and nephews.

Pasadena Star-News, January 12, 2008