Marijean "Jeanie" Martin Pruett

Marijean "Jeanie" Martin Pruett was born in Augusta, Georgia March 21, 1933 to Smantha Bozeman Martin and W. Stanford Martin. She was the eldest of four daughters. Jeanie spent her childhood in Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana. She graduated in 1951 from C.E. Byrd High School in Shreveport, Louisiana, where she was a member of the National Honor Society.

Jeanie was a Registered Nurse, graduating in 1954 from the School of Nursing at Charity Hospital of Louisiana in New Orleans. After graduation she worked in Labor and Delivery at Charity where she met her husband, Paul Pruett. They had been married for 59 years at the time Paul died in 2014. In addition to her three sisters, Jeanie is survived by her ten children: Mike (Janene), Sarah (John Merkle), Tim (Angel), Dan (Pam), Laura (Paul Gibaldi), Andy (Kumiko), Elizabeth, John, Martha and Catherine (Tom Goolsby) and their families, including 18 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Family and friends cherish many memories of life in the house Jeanie and Paul built in 1968 on the hill overlooking Pierson Creek east of Springfield. For fifty years in and around this house, the extended Pruett family and their friends and guests enjoyed adventures, celebrations, gatherings and conversations surrounded by the woods and creatures of the hill and the creek valley.

Jeanie highly valued both stability and adventure. She managed a full and lively household, volunteered for school and church, and relished conversations and laughs with family and many dear friends. An avid reader all her life, Jeanie loved sharing ideas about books, films and music. Canoeing, hiking and camping with her family, friends or Girl Scouts whether in the Ozarks, Rocky Mountains, or Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness counted among her favorite outings.

Jeanie died on March 25, 2020 in Springfield, Missouri. Due to current restrictions on travel and gatherings, a memorial will be held at a later time under the direction of Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, those who wish may donate in Jeanie's memory to Holy Trinity Catholic Church or LifeHouse Crisis Maternity Home.