Jean Thompson Makepeace died peacefully at home on July 24. She was 95.

Jean (Tommy) Thompson was born on Feb. 22, 1917, upstairs at home on Parsonage Road in Greenwich, Conn., and her first crib was a bureau drawer. She and Lloyd Makepeace were marriedon May 22, 1948 in the living room of that same house.

She attended the Greenwich Academy through ninth grade and then went to Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, Conn. She graduated in 1934 and spent the next year studying art history in Florence, Italy. She always said it was one of the best years of her life.

During the war Jean worked at Chance Vought (later Sikorsky Aircraft) in Stratford, Conn., after whichshe worked at Metallurgy Labs, followedby two years at Pan American Airways. She quit Pan Am to get married, and legend has it that they had to hire three people to replace her.

When she and Lloyd were first married, she didn’t know how to cook, so Dad taught her how to cook an egg. She took that, ran with it, and cooking becameher lifelong passion. She was one of the original foodies. Growing up, her children were on the receiving end of that passion. 

Jean was a lifelong member of the Junior League of Greenwich, president of the Greenwich Academy Alumnae Association 1957/1958 and until recently she was class secretary for her Greenwich Academyclass. In the1960s, she volunteered at GreenwichHospital. She had a wonderful ear for music, loved going to the Philharmonic and went to Avery Fisher Hall every other Friday for decades.

She loved summers on the Vineyard, and one of her favorite things was going to the beach for an ocean swim. After her children grew and flew, Jean and Lloyd enjoyed world travel; one of the best trips was a family photo Safari to East Africa. In recent years, life was all about dessert; her favorite was ice cream and cookies.

Jean lived life with great enthusiasm and she was full of energy and determination. Everything she did, she did well. For those who got it, she had awicked sense of humor. She was feisty, fiercely independent and dignified to the very last. She is survived by her two children, Marilyn and William (Bill).

A graveside service will be held at the family plot in Granby, Conn. at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in her memory to the Greenwich Academy annual fund or to Saint Barnabas Episcopal Church in Greenwich, Conn. to benefit the music program.

To leave an online condolence please visit leopgallaghergreenwich.com.