Jean May Burnside

Jean May Burnside moved to Albuquerque, NM on May 3, 2024 to be near her two youngest daughters, after spending many years in New Jersey. She passed away peacefully on Thursday, July 11, 2024, with her daughters by her side.

It takes a lot of courage to begin a new life chapter at age 91 but Jean was never afraid of a challenge and reinvented herself many times. She earned a college degree and later a master's degree in education at a time when many women didn't go to college or didn't finish.

In her life, she took on many roles - wife of 57 years, mother to four children, a well-respected elementary school teacher, human resources manager and trainer, administrator in her local township, competitive bridge player, and ambassador and friend to many.

Jean's creativity always shone through. She won acting awards in high school and college and wrote poetry and short stories throughout her life. During the lockdowns and loneliness of the pandemic, she wrote her first romantic novel in 2021.

Although her time with us in NM was brief, she spent time with all of her children in the last six months of her life. We will miss her terribly but cherish the gift of her bright spirit and playful sense of humor, her courage and inner strength. She was and is an inspiration to us all.

Surviving relatives include her children: son Thomas Burnside and his wife, Jeanie, of Mankato, MN, and daughters Cinda Burnside of Mt. Olive, NJ, Darcy Burnside and Melissa Burnside of Albuquerque, New Mexico, as well as her sister Florence and brother-in-law Albert Kolvites of San Mateo, CA, and her sister-in-law Sally Ruh in Kettering, OH.