Jeanne True

Jeanne True, age 92, of St. Johnsbury passed away on June 22, 2017 surrounded by her family.

Jeanne was born on July 20, 1924, on Wild Hill in West Fairlee, VT,  to Elmer and Marion (Southworth) Hatch.  She grew up in Bradford, VT and graduated from Bradford Academy.  She moved to St. Johnsbury in 1942 and began working at Parker Drug.  There she met her future husband, Harlan True.  They married in 1949 and had three children.  They moved to Pine Street where they lived for 35 years.

Jeanne became a member of South Congregational Church in 1951, and sang in the choir for over 60 years.  Music and the church were a big part of her life.  She played in the first hand bell choir (joining 3 other choir members) and they travelled throughout the Northeast Kingdom entertaining community clubs and service groups.

She enjoyed family, camping, birds, nature, animals, and all sports, especially her beloved Celtics.  In later years she worked as a pharmacy technician at Gauthier's Pharmacy, NVRH and later delivering prescriptions.  She loved housesitting and caring for animals and her summer calendar soon became full with housesitting dates. One of  her fondest "jobs" was playing the piano for the Kiwanis Club meetings.  She was a life member of the American Legion Auxiliary and served as its state music chairman for over 20 years.

Jeanne is survived by her son Tim True of Stevensville, MT and her two daughters, Vicki Hill and husband, Peter, of Kennebunk, ME and Amy Heller of Stevensville, MT.  She cherished her four granddaughters - Jordan True of Yakima, WA and Averil Oester and her husband Joe of Bellingham, WA,  and their mother, Candace Johnson of Bellingham, Sara Heller Krueger and her husband Kyle of Stevensville, MT and Rebecca Heller of Spokane, WA.  She was delighted to be a great grandmother to Brody and Charlotte Krueger.  Jeanne was blessed to have her two sisters-in-law, Vi Hatch of No. Haverhill and Shirley Hatch of Woodsville continue to be an important part of her life as well as her dear friend Jo-Ann Gieselman. She is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.

Those passing before her include her former husband Harlan, her brothers Russell and Howard Hatch and her son-in-law Mark Heller.

A celebration of life will be held at the old South Congregational Church on Main Street on Thursday, June 29 at 1:00 pm.  In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the ‘Activities Fund’ at The Canterbury Inn, 46 Cherry Street, St. Johnsbury, VT 05819.

The family wishes to thank Jeanne's second family at The Canterbury Inn for their incredible care, friendship and support over the past two years.

Condolences and memories may be shared with the family at www.saylesfh.com