Jean M Leary
Jean M. Leary was born in 1934 at an Army Hospital in Manila, Philippine Islands, a territory of the United States at the time. She was the daughter of Arthur Edward O’Leary and Ruth Remigius (Sullivan) O’Leary, both originally from Brockton Massachusetts. Third of four daughters, Jean was raised and educated in Massachusetts.
After graduating from MGH and Boston College with a BS in nursing, she worked in the fields of medicine, psychiatry, public health and rehabilitation, while living in Boston. The notion of a professional woman living with other women in the City was just beginning to be viewed as acceptable. During this period of her life, she began to develop her taste for music, literature and art.
In 1962 she married David Leary and moved to Virginia and later to New Jersey. Together they created a warm and loving home for their six children.
In 1975 a move to Palo Alto changed life in many ways. She returned to school; graduating from Santa Clara University with an MA in Family Counseling and for the next 12 years was part of the adjunct faculty there, teaching Group Therapy, both in theory and clinical practice.
During this time she remained devoted to her children and their expanding worlds. The home was a central gathering place with holidays, graduations and all the milestones of her burgeoning family. There was always room at the table for extras, and a bed if that was needed.
At the same time, she also established a private practice which grew over the next 30 years to include work with children, women in transition and end of life issues. She was especially devoted to her work with retired religious women. The Sisters of Mercy, the Sisters of the Presentation and the Religious of the Sacred Heart were among the orders she regularly counseled.
A poet all of her life, Jean joined her first poetry group, led by John Fox in the 1990s. She was an active member of this Bay Area poetry group until she retired in 2007. At that point, she moved to Rocklin, CA and joined Bob Stanley’s Gupo Tupelo in the Sacramento Area.
Throughout her long life, Jean was abundantly blessed with good health, a deep faith, a curious mind and the love and support of a good man. She lived on both coasts and traveled through North America, Europe, and Asia. She had a positive impact on everyone around her and lives on in the memories of her six children and nine grandchildren.