Jean Mary Rounds

It is with great sadness we share the passing of Jean Mary (Gibbons) Rounds. She left us peacefully on June 8, 2025, at the age of 84. Jean was born on August 12, 1940, in Medford, Oregon. In 1950, her family moved to Roseburg, Oregon to start a finance company. To make the move more palatable, her father bought Jean her first horse, leading to a lifelong love of Tennessee Walking horses. She owned several throughout her life. Jean attended Roseburg High School where she was a cheerleader and dipped her toe in singing and acting. After high school, Jean went to Stephen’s College, an all-girls school in Columbia, Missouri. After two years, Jean returned to Oregon to attend Willamette University, where she received her bachelor's degree and continued to pursue her love of singing and acting. At Willamette, she starred in several musicals and was a proud Delta Gamma sorority sister. Jean was a beloved kindergarten teacher for 35 years and many ex-students remember Mrs. Rounds with fond memories. First at Pasadena Avenue Elementary School and then Ottoman Way Elementary School, both in the Sacramento area. If she could not be a professional singer and actress, being a kindergarten teacher was the absolute best job she could have had. The students were her audience, and Mrs. Rounds was the star of the show. She was known for playing the piano and singing to her students. From songs greeting them in the morning, lining up for class, cleaning up, working nicely, and even pushing in their chairs, everything was a show tune she created in the moment. Jean was a member of the Sacramento Choral, sang opera and had the opportunity to work with the Dave Brubeck Band and Jester Hairston when they visited Sacramento. She participated in the Folsom Lake Mounted Patrol, and was a volunteer with the Folsom Police Department where she was named Volunteer of the Year. Jean enjoyed many cruises and trips with her friends and family. She was a loving mother and grandmother who will always be remembered for making us laugh until we cried with her silliness, and, of course, for her love of margaritas, cosmos, and champagne. She loved a party and loved to be the life of the party! Jean is survived by her daughter, Meagan (John) Donahue, her son, Chris (Athena) Rounds, her three grandsons, Matt, Mike and Mark Donahue, and several nephews. She was preceded in death by her father, Glen Arthur “Mike” Gibbons, her mother, Selma “Sally” (Colbourn) Gibbons, her sister, Virginia (Gibbons) McKay and her brother in law, Harold “Del” McKay. Burial will be private at Roseburg Memorial Gardens, Roseburg, OR.

Jean Mary Rounds

August 12, 1940 - June 8, 2025