Jeanne Marie Byrne

Jeanne M. Byrne died peacefully after a long and well-lived life.

Foremost, the mother of seven children, devoted wife, champion of her faith, grandmother [13], great grandmother [15] and friend to many, she was born on Christmas Day in Fort Fairfield, Maine to Herbert and Teresa [Dionne] Gillespie.

One of eleven children, she is survived by her Sisters, Ann [Santinelli] and Marjorie [Murray]. She was preceded in death by her other siblings; Ralph, Wilfred, Katherine, Martina, Peter, Germaine, Adeline, and Helen.

She is preceded in death by her loving husband, William ‘Jean’ Byrne, and her sons John ‘Timothy’ [Whalen], Bill [Byrne], and Peter [Byrne].

She is survived by her remaining four children, Michael [Whalen], Peg [Zukowski, Greg], James [Byrne], and Matthew [Byrne, Robin].

In her ninety-seven years, Jeanne was a force of nature. Raising seven children and ranging in employment from picking potatoes as a young girl to a short-order cook, motel manager, and school teacher, she was never a stranger to hard work. Arguably, her finest quality was her skill as a Pastry Chef. From the humble toll house to a baked Alaska with a mile-high-meringue, she baked love into everything she made, and it was all amazing.

No truer child of the Depression led a more frugal, but fulfilled life, with such grace and the most infectious of smiles. She was a voracious reader, reading up to five books per week until she fell ill. Reading was her escape from poverty as a young girl, taking her far away from her circumstances. It continued to provide her with the means to countless excursions in her vividly imaginative mind.

Viciously competitive, and armed with an immense vocabulary and the strictest grammar guidelines – you did not want to be across the table from her in a game of 45’s or scrabble, and no crossword puzzle was safe in her presence.

A mass will be held 10:00 a.m. Saturday, July 18, 2026 at Blessed Trinity Catholic Church. Internment will follow at Highland Memorial Park where she will be laid to rest with her husband.