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Jean Willms
HOUSTON, Texas — Jean Ann Willms Haws, 90, died June 9, 2024, at her residence in Houston, Texas. Jean was born Aug. 14, 1933, in Sioux City, Iowa, to Ernest Frederick “E.F.” Willms and Alice Strivens Willms and raised in the nearby small farming community of Coleridge, along with her beloved siblings Judith and Neal. Although Jean left Nebraska in the 1950s, Coleridge was always in her heart. She was forever grateful for having grown up in a small community that instilled within her a strong work ethic and high morals; and for the loving relationships she had with innumerable family and friends. Jean returned to Nebraska frequently throughout the years and passed on the small-town experience to her children.
After graduating from Coleridge High School in 1950, Jean studied nursing at Nebraska Wesleyan College, Lincoln; Kahler School of Nursing, Rochester, Minn.; and Lying-In Hospital and Cook County Hospital, Chicago. After moving back to Lincoln in 1955, she met her future husband, William Haws. He proposed to her two weeks after they met, and they were married three months later, Oct. 15, 1955, in Seward. Bill and Jean’s marriage lasted nearly 51 years, until his death in 2006.
During the early years of their marriage, Bill’s career in construction management involved frequent moves to various locations including Fort Worth, Abilene, Albuquerque, Denver and Pueblo, Colo. In 1960, Bill and Jean transferred, for the last time, to Houston where Bill was assigned to the downtown post office construction project. After settling in Houston, Jean was a stay-at-home Mom and raised three children, while actively engaging in PTA meetings and other civic interests before, she resumed her nursing career in the 1970s, after having been away from the profession for nearly 20 years. Although Jean initially worked at the downtown Memorial Hospital location, she eventually moved to Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital when it opened in 1977, where she became a hospital administrator in the 1980s and retired in 1998.
Jean had a strong faith which she shared with other members of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, and where for several years she volunteered with SEARCH Homeless Services. Her other volunteering ventures were at Caring Critters and the Houston Health Museum. She was always an avid reader and stayed active in later years by attending yoga classes and working out at the YMCA. She loved animals and could be seen every day walking her beloved collie, Patsy, or her terrier, Ginger. In later years “Miss Jean,” as she was known, delighted the neighborhood with her ready smile and familiar wave. Everyone from the AC repairman to the smallest child adored the ever-memorable “Miss Jean.”
Jean was preceded in death by her husband, William; and sister, Judith.
She is survived by daughter, Lisa Mach (David), Austin, Texas; son, Jonathan Haws (Caprice), Chattanooga, Tenn.; son, Marc Haws (Judy), Houston, Texas; grandson, Stefan Mach, Houston, Texas; granddaughter, Olivia Gorena (Dani), Decatur, Ga.; and granddaughter, Bianca Gorena, North Providence, R.I.; brother, Neal Willms (Sharyn), Omaha; niece, Tiffany Willms, Omaha; nephew, Clark Willms (Christie), Omaha; and extended family in Texas and Nebraska.
A memorial service for Jean was held June 18 at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Houston.
Memorial contributions may be directed in the name of Jean Willms Haws to SEARCH (www.searchhomeless.org), Caring Critters, LLC (www.houstoncaringcritters.org) or to a charity of your choice.
