Jean Sevesta (Hollinshead) Korell
Thu, 10/10/2019 - 1:34pm
Heraldgroton
Jean Sevesta (Hollinshead) Korell will be greatly missed by her family, friends and community. She died on Tuesday, October 1, 2019 at Sunrise Assisted Living in Leominster. She was 103 years old.
Born to Glenn and Emily (Seybert) Hollinshead in Broadview, Montana on Aug. 7, 1916, she was the second of four girls. During the first 10 years of her life, her family moved from town to town between Montana and Wyoming. One of her homes was a sheep wagon in the foot hills
of Wyoming. She fondly remembered these early years and credited her mother’s enthusiasm for the nurturing of Jean’s visual images and impressions of nature; this nurturing led to her growing interest for art and learning. Her family moved to Howe, Indiana where, three years later, her mother and a younger sister died in a fire. At the age of 13, Jean became the caregiver for her older and younger sisters and that led her to become independent and determined to do well in her endeavors.
Jean graduated from Howe high school. At the age of 19 she started teaching and graduated from Indiana University in 1940. While teaching in Indiana, she met “this handsome young man." In 1942 she and Keith Korell were married in Howe. Keith was then drafted into WWII and after the war ended, they moved to Cincinnati. In 1950 they moved to Grayslake, IL with their two boys, Rick and Mike and, later, their daughter Sylvia. Jean immediately started teaching at Lakeview. She became involved with the entire community. She and Keith became members of the United Protestant Church. Jean was not someone to refuse any request for volunteer work whether it was for the church, the school or the community. She also began to pursue her love of painting and art which she was able to pass on to her students. She became a mentor for many of her students and a beloved friend to those who knew her.
In 1973 Jean earned her Master’s Degree from Roosevelt University which enabled her to become vice-principle then principle at Lakeview. In 1982 Jean retired from teaching, but yet another phase of her life was just beginning. She enrolled at the College of Lake County and began taking courses in painting, pottery, poetry and writing. As always, she approached her classes with her usual determination and enthusiasm. Jean’s watercolors are both amazing and beautiful; she experimented with different media, always pushing her own boundaries. [To see her paintings, go to https://jeanspaintings.tumblr.com Password is Indiana]
When Keith retired, he and Jean began to travel the world including New Zealand, China, Africa, the Galapagos Islands, Australia, Japan and always enjoyed going to their children’s and grandchildren’s respective homes. In 1993 Jean suffered a stroke which affected her speech processing and prevented long distance travel but did not deter her from enjoying her community, friends and family. She continued painting and taking art classes and it seems that whatever impaired her speech processing only enhanced her visual imagination.
In Jean’s later years, her family was her number one priority, but the love for her friends, her students, her church and the community of Grayslake remained as it been had since 1950. She will be missed by all.
Predeceased by Keith in 2008 and her son Rick in 2016, Jean is survived by her daughter-in-law Carolyn; children, Mike ( John) and Sylvia (Ray); her grandchildren Michael, Monica (Steve), Christopher, and Austin; a sister-in-law, Myrt Korell, and nieces and nephews for whom she had great fondness and interest.
Donations may be made to the American Diabetes Association or the Alzheimer’s Association.
Comment Policy:
Please send comments to grotonherald@gmail.com