L. Jean Shubert

From Brandon Shubert, Jean's son:

I’m here to announce the passing of my mom, L. Jean Shubert, on February 8th, 2023, at the age of 85. Born on January 29th 1938 in Medina Texas, only child of John Henry, and Novella Peat Zumwalt. Dedicated wife of over 6 decades to Carrell Shubert. Loving mother of Randy, Ronnie, Donna, and Brandon. Grandmother of 4 grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren. As well as “Aunt Jeanie” to the rest of her family.

Mom worked and retired as a Personal Banker, at the Bank of Durango, which ultimately became Wells Fargo. To give back to her community, she volunteered at the Durango Elks Club as an active member of the Emblem Club, serving in several official capacities at the local and state level. She also volunteered at the Durango Senior Center.

Education was very important to Mom. Despite only completing the eighth grade in her youth, she went back to school in her 40’s to graduate from Fort Lewis College, Summa Cum Laude, in three years with majors and minors in History, Anthropology, and Archaeology (there’s Indiana Jones again). Keep in mind she was working full-time as well as raising her youngest son, me, who was only ten at the time.

Mom always kept busy, including volunteering, reading, watching, movies, baking, cooking, and Gardening.

Books, movies, and more books. Mom loved reading. Literally thousands of books, hundreds of cookbooks alone, filled her collection. And she loved movies, “Indiana Jones” was her favorite, as well as anything starring “Arney”, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

If she wasn’t working, or taking care of her immediate family, she was looking out for her many nieces and nephews, who all confided in her, or had been taken in and sheltered by her and my father at one time or another. She was Aunt Jeanie, the kind of the “Switzerland’ of the family. As one of her nieces said, “a place where you always felt safe, welcome, and loved”.

Then there was the kitchen. The smell of freshly baked breads, rolls, cakes, roasts or whatever recipe she happened to be trying out that day always filled her home. Many of those recipes she passed on to her children and relatives. I know my family always asks me to bake “Grandma’s Rolls” for every holiday.

Gardening was perhaps her greatest passion. From her house plants that filled every spare inch of her home, to her expansive gardens that filled her yard, gardening, “playing in the dirt” she called it, was where she was always happiest. This led her on a multi-year extensive training path to become a certified “Master Gardener”, an accomplishment that she held with great pride.

Taking into consideration Mom’s love of flowers and greenery, no memorial service will be held at this time. A “Celebration of Life” event will be held at a later date when the flowers are in bloom. This is what she would have wanted.