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Obituary: Jeananne Inez Poythress

March 27, 1934 ~ September 6, 2021
Jeananne Inez Poythress
March 27, 1934 ~ September 6, 2021
Posted at 1:04 PM, Jan 06, 2022
and last updated 2022-01-06 15:04:21-05

Jeananne Inez “Jean” (Walker-Hill) Poythress, 87, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Monday, September 6th, 2021, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Jean was born on March 27th, 1934, in Needham, MA, to parents Dorothy (Anderson) and Ralph Walker.

Jean grew up in Needham, MA, started dancing at a young age, and later studied ballet at The Boston Conservatory. She married her first husband, James Hill II, in 1952 and they started their family soon after when their first son James III was born. After that, the Air Force took them to Anchorage, AK, where daughters Laura and Patricka were born. From there, they went on to Preschile, ME, where Joseph was born, then Baton Rouge, LA, and Lompoc, CA, before settling in Great Falls, MT. Sadly, James passed away in September 1981.

Jean later married her second husband, William “Bill” Poythress, in 1984. Jean and Bill joined their families together, and shared 10 children, 16 grandchildren, and 17 “Great-Grands”, who they adored. They were married for 31 years, before Bill passed away in December 2015.

Jean worked for Martin Marietta, General Dynamics, and General Electric, in the missile field, for 12 years, but for most of her life (36 years), she was a dance instructor, eventually opening the Rainbow Hill Dance Studio, and she loved all her “dance kids”! Jean loved spending time with her family and fur-babies, enjoyed sewing, working with ceramics and porcelain dolls, including repairing them, and each year she would collect toys to repair, and give to the Children’s Receiving Home at Christmas time.

To read the complete obituary and share condolences, visit the Croxford Funeral Home website.