Jean Alice Pearson of Hiddenite, N.C., formerly of Canisteo, N.Y. passed away surrounded by her family at her home on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
The daughter of the late Bert Wolfarth and Beryl Schiller, she was born September 8, 1934, in Nelliston, N.Y. At only 16, she graduated from Cobleskill High School and attended St. Lawrence University before deciding to chase her dream of exploring the world by joining the United States Air Force on her 18th birthday.
During her time in the Air Force, she won the “Miss Medic” Beauty Pageant and was a model for the Air Force recruiting efforts – her photo could be seen nationwide on posters and pamphlets. It was while serving as a dental hygienist in Germany that she met her future husband, Kenneth Pearson. You could say it was love at first sight. He asked her to marry him only three short months after their first date – skiing in the Swiss Alps. They were married July 2, 1956, and had their first daughter, Melanye, the following April. In 1959, they were transferred to Fairbanks, Alaska, where their second daughter, Kendra, was born. In 1959, she competed in the North American Women’s Dog Sledding Competition. They were later transferred to Lubbock, Texas, where Jean excelled as a race car driver, raised chinchillas, and enjoyed attending rodeos. She also broke the state record by growing a 24-foot-tall sunflower. While road tripping the country on vacation, the couple drove through Canisteo, N.Y., and fell in love with a 700-acre dairy farm, which they purchased, and eventually moved to after Ken retired from the Air Force.
In addition to dairy farming, Jean was also the Supervisor of New York State Meter Readers, which she turned into a 23-year career. Affectionately known as “Mean Jean the Hangin’ Judge,” she was the Justice of the Town of Canisteo for many years. She also served as President of the Canisteo Board of Education. Everyone who knew Jean knew she truly lived her life to the fullest, setting a positive example for all around her. She loved to play competitive bridge, accomplishing the rank of Silver Life Master. She was also a member of Mensa.
She was predeceased by her loving husband, Ken Pearson; brother, Howard Wolfarth; and her parents, Bert Wolfarth and Beryl Schiller; and her son-in-law, TJ Brennan.
She is survived by her daughters, Melanye Brennan and Kendra Pearson; her grandchildren, Lynn Brennan White, Kelly Brennan, Jacob (Bethanie) Hilt, and Thomas Hilt; her great-grandchildren, Oliver, Zoey and Isabelle Hilt, Leo Marabel, and Saige and Landon White; as well as many nieces and nephews.
The family will receive friends from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 9, 2025, at the H.P. Smith & Son, Inc. Funeral Home in Canisteo where a funeral service will take place Monday, March 10, at 12 noon with committal and burial with military honors to follow in Bath National Cemetery, Bath, N.Y. Everyone is invited to a Celebration of Jean’s Life following the burial at 3 pm, to take place at the American Legion in Canisteo.
Arrangements in care of H.P. Smith & Son, Inc. Funeral Home in Canisteo, N.Y. Adams Funeral Home and Cremation Services handled local arrangements in North Carolina.