Jean Wingert

Jean Wingert passed away Sunday in a local care home following a brief illness. She was born in Avoca, Oklahoma and has called Benicia her home since 1946. She was born to Walter Clifford Huggins (birthplace: Conway, AK), and Edith Mae Bowman Huggins (birthplace: Pottawatomie County, OK). She worked in the District Office for the Benicia Unified School District for many years. She and her husband had many hobbies—their favorite was camping around the country in their travel trailer, collecting rocks and friends along the way. Jean was an independent woman once widowed, taking charge of her life and making every day an adventure. She learned how to use a computer, and as a result kept in touch with the younger members of her family. She loved to read, garden, and spent many happy hours visiting and playing pinochle with her friends at the Benicia Senior Center. Her life-long passion was researching both her husband’s and her own family history. She travelled far and wide sifting through archives, and attending family reunions where she would meet up with newly discovered relatives. She had a spirit of adventure, and was always ready to learn something new. A highlight was a road trip with her nieces (Janet and June—Oklahoma natives, and #1 fans of their Aunt Jean) throughout California in the Fall of 2013. She left her home and family as a young adult to come to California in search of a new life, and in the end managed to connect these two places in a lovely way. Family and friends meant everything to Jean. She became a favorite with the staff of her final home, Camino Alto Residential Club, and with the kind people who gave her special care, Kindred Care at Home Hospice of Pleasant Hill. To the very end Jean displayed a positive outlook on life, a sense of humor, and an interest in others. Jean is survived by her sons Charlie (Hope) Wingert and Doug (Leslie) Wingert; grandchildren Sarah Stone, Jenny (Gus) Perez, Kate Wingert, & Paul Wingert; great grandchildren Joshua, James, and Jacob Stone, Chelsea and Jake Keath, Jace Smith, Isabella Perez, and Ryan Perez. Jean was preceded in death by her husband Bland in 1999. Memorial services will be held 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, August 5th at Passalacqua Funeral Chapel. Burial in Benicia Cemetery will be private. Family prefers donations to the Adaptive Learning Center, 3227 Clayton Road, Concord, CA 94519, www.c4al.org.

Jean Wingert

June 6, 1926 - July 26, 2015