Jean Evelyn Cobb
1941 - 2024

After a short illness, Jean Evelyn Cobb died on May 26, 2024. She was surrounded by her daughter, Jennifer Kathleen Gibbons, and her niece, Sericea Vasankari.

Born on September 9, 1941, Jean grew up in Indiana. In 1954, her family moved to California. She graduated from high school in 1959 and then worked as a phone operator and a secretary. In 1970, she moved to the Bay Area and met and married Richard Gibbons.

After earning her degree in Political Science in 1980 (finishing two years of schoolwork in one), she also worked as a receptionist, an event planner, and an instructional assistant.  After living in the Bay Area for forty-five years, she moved to Fresno in 2015. Jean always seized joy when she could: singing badly in the car, looking at holiday decorations, and admiring the mountains while driving. She never passed up going to a library book sale and loved classic movies and mysteries, especially cozy British ones. She was a model of resilience: picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and starting again.

In addition to her daughter and niece, she is survived by her great-nephews Marcus Vasankari and Elias Vasankari, and her sister-in-law Kathleen Pietrowski. She was predeceased by her parents, Floyd Cobb and Thora Cobb, her brother Bill Cobb, and her husband Richard Gibbons. There can be no doubt she left this world a better place.

A memorial will take place later this summer.