- Date Of Birth: June 10, 1916
- Date Of Death: February 13, 2016
- State: Michigan
Passed away early Saturday morning, February 13, 2016 after spending the last years of her life with her son and daughter-in-law. She was born on June 10, 1916 in Birnamwood, WI, to Albert and Minnie (Post) Smit (a.k.a. Smith). She married Harry W. Garrison on October 19, 1946.
The first of seven siblings, Jeanette developed a life-long devotion to the well being of children. She attended Western State High School and graduated from Western State Teachers’ College (now WMU) and then began a career in early-elementary education. Along the way, she earned her Masters’ Degree in Child Guidance Counseling.
Her career brought her to Saginaw and Seattle, and back to Kalamazoo. She taught at Lincoln School, and the Brucker School Reading Center, before serving as principal of Arcadia and Grand Prairie schools, and retiring in 1983 as principal of Oakwood Elementary.
She loved spending time at her favorite place, a cottage on Gravel Lake. It was a gathering spot for family and friends, where good times were had and lasting memories were made.
She is survived by her three children: Richard (Derith) Garrison and James (Gwen) Garrison of Kalamazoo, and Mary (Robert) Maddox of Ann Arbor; eight grandchildren; twelve great-grandchildren; her sister Sue Oosterhouse of Kalamazoo; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Jeanette was preceded in death by her husband of 51 years, Harry Garrison; her parents; three sisters: Gertrude Jager, Alberta Clapp and Millie Sportel; and brothers, Paul and Kenneth Smit.
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