Jeanne Storm, 90, of Chester, had a quirky sense of humor and loved nature, British comedies

Jeanne May Storm, 90, died at her home in Chester on Halloween Oct. 31, 2018.

She was born Jeanne Geres in Kiskatom, N.Y., on June 26, 1928 to Florence (Von Bargen) Geres and the Rev. George Geres. She was raised and educated in Astoria, N.Y., where she attended William Cullen Bryant High School, from which she graduated in 1946.

During her childhood and teen years Mrs. Storm spent summers in Newfane, Vt., which sparked a lifelong love of Vermont and nature. She spent many summer days on the Newfane farm of Frank and Ethel Gould and always remembered those times fondly as they were a welcome break from the chaos of city life. All her life she told stories from that time.

Although Mrs. Storm had wished to be a teacher, she went on to secretarial school after high school and worked at American Express in New York City. For many years, she was active in her father’s parish, the Homecrest Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, leading the young people’s groups and helping with the general running of the parish.

In 1959, she married Halfdan M. Storm in 1959 and made her home in La Grangeville, N.Y., where she raised her daughters. Her love of nature and teaching expressed themselves in being a 4-H leader and starting her own nature club for local children. She loved animals and always had numerous pets including dogs, cats, rabbits and a goat. She also raised many generations of Pilgrim geese.

Mrs. Storm was a resourceful woman and could operate a chainsaw, split her own wood and sew her own clothing. She was an avid reader and searcher for truth taking her to many denominations: Dutch Reformed, Presbyterian, Methodist, Quaker and finally Unitarian Universalist.

She became a member of the First Universalist Parish of Chester after moving to Vermont in 1999 and ended her days as an atheist.

She read the New York Times every day front to back until very recently. She loved books about nature, biology and geology; and was interested in archeology, anthropology and history.

Mrs. Storm had a quirky sense of humor and loved British comedies like Monty Python’s Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers. Her favorite comedian was George Carlin. She taught her daughters to be fair; to look for inequality and combat it, to reach out to those less fortunate, and to believe that all peoples are equal.

She is predeceased by her parents and her husband.

She is survived by her daughters Kari Storm and her husband Kenneth Ebell of Chester and Liv Hooker and her husband Carl Hooker of North Springfield. She is also survived by numerous grand-dogs of all breeds, all of them rescues. She is also survived by her brother George Geres of New Bern, N.C.; and several nieces, nephews and cousins including those in Denmark and Norway.

The family wishes to thank her aide Ellen Lacomb for her help in the last two years. And they also extend a sincere thank you to Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire for all their help and guidance.

There will be no services. Cremation is arranged by Davis Memorial Chapel of Springfield.
Donations in her memory can be made to the Humane Society of Scott County Indiana, PO Box 711, Scottsburg, IN 47170 and by clicking here.

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