Jeanne-Marie Smith Bishop passed away in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on January 4, 2010 at the age of 86. She is survived by two of her three children, Jacqui (White Plains. NY) and John (Florida), and her daughter-in-love, Kathy. Rogers Jr. died in January of 2004, and Rogers Sr. in December of 1999.

Jeanne was born on March 25, 1923 in New York City to Elizabeth Murphy and John R. Smith. She graduated from Roosevelt High School in Yonkers NY and attended Smith College (Class of ’44) until 1941 when she married H. Rogers Bishop (Yale ’37), her husband and beloved dancing partner of over 58 years.

Jeanne will be remembered for her enormous energy, beauty, enthusiasm, ready hospitality, and staunch friendship. Also her sense of adventure: She even followed her daughter into The Landmark Forum and the 6-day, and she learned and shared her personal discoveries with her friends. There was hardly a thing that she didn’t find worth some curiosity, and she passed that on to her children, especially John, who deals in new ventures.

Having thumbed her nose at the Church by marrying a non-Catholic against orders, Jeanne traveled in her 60s to Medjugore, in Yugoslavia, to the site of the Virgin’s visitations, which continue to this day. The encounter returned her to a deep practice in her childhood tradition. She attended daily mass, first at St. Joseph’s in Bronxville, and later at St. Gregory’s in Rye, where she and Rogers moved when Jeanne began losing her battle against dementia. The Mass remained a deep source of peace and love until she left New York.

Jeanne and Rogers spent their first decade or so producing children in Asharoken Beach, L.I., and New York City, where Jeanne was active in the Junior League puppeteers and other charitable activities. In 1953, they moved to Bronxville NY, starting out in the Crow’s Nest and eventually designing and building their own house at 17 Greenfield Avenue.

In Bronxville, Jeanne moved into her own as an unusually versatile artist, although she never chose to become a full-time professional. Her paintings reflected her great loves: nature, mountains, skiing, gardens, children, animals, and travel. Jeanne’s non-stop wanderlust took her and Rogers to China, India, Africa, South America, the Middle East, Europe, and all over the U.S.

In 1964, she and Rogers designed and built a ski house in Stratton Mountain, Vermont, which became an important
center of family life for the next 25 years. Many Bronxvillians followed them there. An avid skier, Jeanne raced slalom into her 60s. In Stratton Mountain’s early days, Rogers served on the Board, while Jeanne did much to support and promote the ski racing program there. In the mid-80s, they moved their ski activities to Beaver Creek in Colorado’s Vail Valley.

She moved in a family drama to Florida where for a few years she found a good deal of peace and fun in a facility for dementia patients. Always a lover and ally of men, Jeanne acquired two admirers immediately, one of whom became her constant companion for the next three years.

Later, having uncovered the appalling weaknesses of our nation’s eldercare warehousing system, her daughter moved her into a private setting that was, as usual, unusual, holistic, and dedicated to living fully regardless of circumstance.

We want to give special thanks to the intrepid group of caregivers headed by the multi-talented Penelope Power, assisted by the irrepressible Virginia Petchul, reigning Director of Fun, and faithfully staffed by Lettice Weir, Shawn Thomas, Nellie Admira Miller, and Karen Young. These gifted soul-lovers tenderly ministered to Jeanne and brought her safely home. (If we’re lucky, they’ll write a book someday about how to do that.) In the background, Dalbert Weir and Bill Ferris provided strong male support—one of Jeannie’s favorite things.