It is with saddened hearts we announce the passing of Jean Alice (Schminky) English of Cleveland, Ohio. Jean was born February 21, 1936, at Huron Road Hospital in East Cleveland and passed away on December 14, 2024, in Rocky River Nursing Facility at the age of 88.
Jean grew up in Mentor-on-the-Lake with her mother Naomi (Fogarty) Schminky and father Isaiah Schminky, her older brother George and sister Ruth (Schminky) Haygari. Jean followed her brother and sister to Mentor High School, graduating in 1957. She grew up one path away from the lake with many years of family beach time, clam bakes and seasonal celebrations. Her coming of age included roller skating with her sister and friends at Euclid Beach and endless summer days and nights at Headlands beach and Mentor-on-Lake. As Jean would love to say, their friendships overcame the test of time.
Jean’s husband Douglas D. English was born in Kentucky on September 15, 1931. Douglas was an Air Force veteran stationed in Korea and Germany. In 2010 they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Douglas passed away on November 6, 2013, at age 82. Jean and Doug were devoted to each other and supported each other in work, family, travel and golf. They loved attending the opera and dressing up for a Cleveland night out. They spent much of their younger years together in the Flats where Douglas played the horn, favoring the saxophone for that Dixieland band sound. Jean would bring friends and family to dance the night away. They played golf at Little Met and other courses.
Jean worked after high school at the Darling Company and later spent many years assisting in the Financial Services Department at Eaton Corporation, again making lifelong friends along the way.
Jean Alice led a life filled with joy, kindness and a passion for living life without fear and with devotion to seeking out new knowledge and experience. She loved to sit and read National Geographic and Scientific American in her back yard, while watching the birds for the pure joy of taking all of life in. Jean exemplified and taught the importance of helping those you can and showing nothing but kindness to everyone.
Jean will be interred at Knollwood Cemetery in Mayfield Heights in a private ceremony. There will be a Celebration of Life at the Old Stone Church at a later date.