MILWAUKEE – Jeanne des Lauriers Cieri, dear wife, mother and friend, died peacefully Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008, at her daughter’s home in Waukesha, Wis. She was born Jan. 31, 1916, in Duluth, Wis. Jeanne’s family subsequently moved to New Orleans. Both parents died tragically, leaving the children to be cared for by extended family in Wisconsin. Jeanne later attended Mundelein College before leaving the Midwest for Washington, D.C. While working at the U.S. State Department, she was tapped to serve on the American Mission for Aid to Greece, after World War II. In Athens, Greece, she met her future husband, U.S. Air Force pilot, Anthony J. Cieri. Jeanne shepherded their young family through a series of military postings, including three years in Japan. After Tony’s retirement from the Air Force in 1962, they moved to Wisconsin, where he worked in finance at Marquette University. As her children grew more independent, Jeanne worked on political campaigns, served on the boards of charitable non-profits and earned her real estate broker’s license. An amateur compared to her husband, she was particularly proud of her investment successes. A charming bundle of contradictions, Jeanne was funny, sometimes prickly, always upbeat. She was at ease anywhere with anyone. While she appreciated good manners, good clothes and a good laugh, she’d seen too much poverty in her travels to live frivolously and abhorred conspicuous consumption. Jeanne was predeceased by her husband of 55 years, Tony; and her brother, Alfred des Lauriers. She leaves behind a sister, Ellen Bowman of Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., now of O’Fallon, Mo.; a son, Jim Cieri, of Madison, Wis.; two daughters, Cathy Cieri DeGroot of Waukesha, Wis., and Carol des Lauriers Cieri of Lincolnville; and seven grandchildren. A memorial service will be held 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21, at Holy Family Congregation, 4825 North Wildwood Ave., Whitefish Bay, Wis. Memorials may be made to Dominican High School Scholarship Fund, Whitefish Bay, Wis., and Blue and Gold Athletic Fund at Marquette University, Milwaukee.
JEANNE DES LAURIERS CIERI
