Jeanne Bailley Cound

Jeanne B. Cound (nee Bailley) was born on May 21, 1928, during a violent thunderstorm in Washington, D.C., and passed away on a peaceful Minnesota morning on November 8, 2024 at age 96. Jeanne grew up in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol. By her own admission spoiled by her grandparents and her adored Uncle Charlie, she had a happy childhood in Washington, making lifelong friends and spending summers at the family cottage in Felicity Cove, MD. While her astronomer grandpa was a world traveler, and his stories and her love of the National Geographic (where she later worked) made her hungry for worldly adventure, she rarely travelled further than Maryland and Virginia, and she dreamed of attending college further away. Her dreams came true at Wheaton College (Norton, MA), and later at Radcliffe's Harvard East Asian Program, which she later called the "most exciting year of her life." In 1954, Jeanne married John J. Cound (Jack). Their son, Edward, was born in 1955. A year later, they moved to Minnesota, where Jack joined the Law School faculty at the University of Minnesota. They soon were joined by their other children, William, Thomas and Bronwen. Though her first 25 years were spent on the east coast, Jeanne became thoroughly Minnesotan - an avid Gopher fan, an enthusiastic supporter of the arts, especially opera, theater and music - and Jeanne and Jack imbued their children with many of the same passions. She loved reading stories to her very young kids, and she instilled in them a lifelong passion for books. Jeanne had a great love for nature and especially all its critters, from her childhood menagerie to the many birds, cats and dogs she lovingly cared for over the years. Inspired by her childhood memories of Felicity Cove, Jeanne and Jack searched out the ideal summer place in Minnesota, which, in 1965, led to a nearly 60-year tradition of summertime sojourns to Lake Vermilion - considered by her children and grandchildren as their "happy place." Jeanne loved games, from big ones like Gopher football, basketball and hockey to smaller ones like the boisterous lakeside sessions of Pit, poker (for pennies!) with their close friends, and card games with her nieces. Always loving and inclusive, Jeanne welcomed her children's friends - and especially their spouses - as members of the family, and made everyone feel at home, no matter where they were from. Jeanne and Jack were married for 70 years. She is survived by Jack; their children Edward, William (Theresa), Thomas (Nadine), and Bronwen (William); nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Jeanne once wrote that "she tries to be guided by that wee quiet voice within, which bids her to live simply, with love and honesty and hard work and try to leave the world a better place." Private family service and interment at Fort Snelling.

Tributes

Jeanne Bailley Cound

May 21, 1928 - November 8, 2024

Tributes

Jeanne Bailley Cound

May 21, 1928 - November 8, 2024

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