Jeanne E. Marquet

Jeanne Elizabeth Marquet, 90, of the Masonic Village, Elizabethtown, passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 26 at Lancaster General Hospital.

Jeanne was born September 2, 1924 in Newark, N.J., the oldest child and only daughter of Edward Emil and Ruth M. (Swingle) Wills.  She was raised in Pottsville, Schuylkill County, and after graduating from Pottsville High School entered the Pottstown Hospital School of Nursing in Montgomery County. She earned her nursing certificate there in 1946 and began her career as a registered nurse in the obstetrical unit of Pottstown Hospital.  In the late ‘50’s and early ‘60’s she worked in Pottstown as a visiting nurse, and in this capacity was especially active in helping women to obtain birth control.  An avid learner, she continued her education throughout her life and earned an Associate in Applied Science degree at the Montgomery County Community College in 1977, graduating summa cum laude, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in alcohol and drug abuse counseling at Alvernia College in 1981.  Following her graduation from Alvernia she was employed at Eagleville Hospital and Norristown State Hospital.  She participated in the Harvard Medical School-affiliated Nurses’ Health Studies for more than 30 years, had many community interests, and was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star for 25 years.

Jeanne married H. Robert Marquet, Sr. in 1949, and the two raised their family near Pottstown, residing at the corner of Manatawny and Grosstown Roads.   Jeanne moved to the Masonic Village in Elizabethtown several years after her husband’s death, which took place in May of 1990.  The couple had three children, who survive: H. Robert Marquet, Jr., of Lancaster, husband of Satoko; Ruth Anne, wife of Dennis Plourde, of Aberdeen, Maryland, and Amy, wife of Thaddeus Sheppeck, of Minneapolis.  Also surviving are a brother, Edward Wills, of Reading, grandchildren Jennifer Koeckeritz; Dennis Robert, James, and David Plourde; and Ariel Marquet.

Jeanne will be fondly and admiringly remembered for her great love of art, beauty, and design—she was a talented amateur artist who graced her walls with murals—and for her passion for learning, her irreverent wit, her natural elegance, and her tireless curiosity.  She enjoyed pondering the mysteries of creation and retained her gift of wonder, which never waned, for her entire lifetime.

Services will be private and at the convenience of the family. Memorial contributions in her honor may be sent to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, 4724 Baum Blvd., Pittsburgh, Pa., 15213. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Miller-Sekely Funeral Home & Crematory, 130 North Market Street, Elizabethtown, PA  17022.

Condolences and memories may be shared at www.millerfuneralhome.com