Jeanne passed away peacefully in her sleep at home. She was the oldest daughter of Lottie L. Houk and James F. Hamilton. Jeanne was preceded in death by her oldest son, Bruce and is survived by her husband Bill Watson of more than 60 years; daughter Ginnie (Hal) Mathews and son Jim (Barb) Watson; and grandsons Hunter Mathews, Kyle Watson, and Cole Watson.
Jeanne was born in Oakland, graduated from Berkeley HS and then UC Berkeley. At Cal, she worked for the Daily Cal, which at the time was considered to be a man’s profession. But, she became the night editor and then city editor. The Journalism department also awarded her a commendation for her unbiased coverage of the 1950 UC Berkeley faculty loyalty oath hearings. After graduating, she was a reporter for the Watsonville Register-Pajaronian, before marrying in 1954 and starting a family.
In the 1930’s Jeanne developed her lifelong love of nature during weeklong stays at the Stockton Municipal Camp, at Silver Lake CA. In the 1960’s, she and her family were introduced to the Carson Route of the Emigrant Trail, which passes behind Silver Lake. With her passion for history, she pursued trail preservation, education, and advocacy, resulting in her serving on the Oregon-California Trails Association’s (OCTA) board and 30 years co-leading their Legislative Liaison Committee. One of her accomplishments included the 1992 congressional authorization to expand the National Trails System to include the California and Pony Express trails, which includes the Carson Route, and congressional authorization for the study of additional routes for possible inclusion. For this work, Jeanne receiving OCTAs Meritorious Achievement Award.
In 1980, Jeanne was authorized to research and publish the diary of Lorena B. Hayes, who traveled to California in 1853 via the Carson Route before settling in the Ione valley. Jeanne’s research was published in 1986 as the “Land of Gold and Wickedness” for which she received an award from the American Association of State and Local History (AASLH) for the quality and depth of her research. She always enjoyed reading excerpts from diaries to her family as they hiked segments of the Carson Route and sharing her knowledge and experience; especially with school children.
Expanding upon Jeanne’s passion for history, in 1973 she became a docent and then curator of the Martin Mitchell House museum in Naperville IL and in 1975, she volunteered at the Newark Museum in NJ, where she developed the first docent training guide for the newly acquired Ballantine House and served as the president of the Newark Museum Volunteers. Then, in 1980 Jeanne became the first Executive Director of the Morris County, Historical Society (MCHS), which was headquartered at Acorn Hall in Morristown NJ, where she raised $500,000 and supervised the restoration of Acorn Hall and created engaging exhibits such as recreating the short-lived Victorian custom to hang a Christmas tree upside-down and exploring the Victorian-era custom for mourning. 9 of her 12 interns later went on to pursue professional careers in the museum field.
While at MCHS, Jeanne also organized the Morris County Director’s Council (of museums), served 2 terms as the American Association of Museum’s (AAM) New Jersey State Director, served 2 terms on the AASLH’s Governing Council, wrote numerous articles, and participated in the review of grant proposals. Jeanne also became an authority on both historic houses and the development and use of volunteers in museums, before retiring in 1996.
After 1996, Jeanne continued to be professionally active through the International Conference of Museums (ICOM), where she helped to create and lead their new International Historic House Committee where she served for 6 years as a Founding Director and then 6 years as Vice Chair. In 2012 Jeanne received the ICOM-US International Service Citation.
A private service was held. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to either OCTA, AAM, American Association of University Women, or to the Alzheimer’s Association.
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