Jean M. Anderson

The distance from the little ranch on Spring Creek, four miles north of Arlee, to Missoula seemed a lot longer on the day Jean Wessinger was born in 1922.  Nonetheless, on March 27, this is where parents Ollie and Phil journeyed to receive their second child.  Jean had some health problems early on, stricken with strep throat, then scarlet fever, and rheumatic fever in the years before penicillin.  The parents didn’t expect she would make it.  But she did, and she grew up to be strong and lovely, her mildly damaged heart left with its murmur lasting her 94 years.  Growing up on the ranch in the Flathead was somewhat idyllic, with her own horse, going fishing with her mom, skiing down the back hills in winter and occasionally, when the old pickup couldn’t get through, riding in the horse drawn sleigh while her father delivered mail to people in the Jocko Valley.  School in Arlee, starting at barely the age of five, was a good experience with school plays, girls’ basketball, and the weekly community dance.  A possible exception was the sometimes-wild school bus ride, but big sister Audrey, who was seven years older, was there to offer protection.  When the family later sold the ranch and moved into town, Jean attended college in Missoula at University of Montana (then called Montana State University), majoring in journalism.  A future in this endeavor looked promising, at one point even landing her a job as the first ever woman reporter for the Spokesman Review.  However, when it came time to choose between a career in writing versus pursuing a family role, Jean chose to follow young Robert (Bob) Anderson of Milltown.   They married in April of ’42, and after Bob’s tenure in the Army Air Corps during WWII, and subsequent training in Peoria, Ill. to be a watchmaker and jeweler, they set up shop in Polson as Anderson Jewelry.  Here she used her education to engage customers and help manage the business, but most importantly, her experiences and education went to the edification of the family she so wanted to have and raise. And raise a family she did, consisting of six “only” children:  Robin, Rocky, Kim (Gus), Clipper, Arrow, and Melody – yes, finally a girl. Such a family was a full time job, but her children were her greatest joy, and she permeated her parenting with her wonderful sense of music and rhythm, both with voice and piano.  In fact, both she and her husband encouraged music in the home.  Still, Jean also found time to teach Sunday school and be a deacon for the First Presbyterian Church, teach kindergarten in her home for a few years, conduct a small gifted-child kindergarten in Polson for several years, and serve as a teacher in the first Head Start program.  She was a very avid reader.  Her family and many other people found that both her house or the store were places where a good listener could be found in her.  She was also known for hosting gala family Christmases well into her 80’s.  She lovingly cared for her parents for their remaining years after they moved to elder care housing in Polson.  She continued to live alone in her home until 2007, tending to her much-loved and accomplished hobbies, including avid gardening, water color painting, community activities, her lifetime of avid reading, receiving family and friends, and, of course, garage-sale hopping. Then, a couple of unfortunate and disabling falls rendered her no longer able to manage alone.  She moved to Missoula and spent the rest of her years living at the Village Senior Residences.  She spent her time here attending her children’s musical performances, visiting the Iris Garden in summer, taking walks, eating an occasional ice cream bar, remembering her family and missing working in her garden in Polson.  She finished her life peacefully in the last two hours of summer, one of her favorite times.  She can never be replaced, but then, she will always be with us. Memorial date to be announced.