Jeanne Hughes Thoren

Jeanne Thoren, a long-time resident of Ithaca, NY passed away on February 14, 2020 at the age of 97 in Rochester, NY. Jeanne was a loving wife and mother to five children. She is preceded in death by her husband of 65 years. Theodore (Ted) Thoren. She is survived by her five children; Tanna Clark (Jack, recently deceased), Terry Thoren (Denise), Tim Thoren (Patti), Tracy Dodd (Woody), Tamara Passero (Andrew), her eleven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Jeanne was born on December 14, 1922 in Genesse, Pa. She lived on a farm with her mother, father and two sisters. She was the middle child and loved her family very much! Jeanne graduated from Genesse High School, where she first met her husband Ted Thoren, who graduated from Wellsville, NY. High School, also in 1940. After graduating from the Rochester Business Institute in Rochester, NY she worked for two years as an office manager and secretary in the Rochester area, and then was recruited by the F.B.I. and assigned to the Buffalo Field Office where she worked from 1942 until 1947. She married her high school sweetheart, Ted Thoren, on May 31, 1947, moved to Ithaca, and worked at Cornell until Ted graduated from Ithaca College in 1949. Ted took a high school football coaching position at Sayre, Pa. High School for two years, while earning his Master’s Degree at Ithaca College. They returned to Ithaca in 1952 when Ted joined the football coaching staff at Cornell University. Jeanne went back to work at Cornell University as an Administrative Manager at the College of Engineering in the Dean’s Office and then became the Executive Assistant to five Engineering Deans for 36 years. Both Jeanne and Ted retired from Cornell University in 1990 so that Ted could continue coaching in Europe for the next 10 years. Jeanne accompanied Ted on many of those trips. They also were fortunate to go on 18 cruises with the Cornell Class of 1944.

Jeanne was a devoted wife and supported her husband in every coaching and recruiting endeavor. Their home was “the home away from home” for the hundreds of football and baseball players and their parents that Ted recruited for Cornell and Jeanne was the “hostess with the mostest!” She was a gourmet cook and loved to entertain, which she did beautifully.

Jeanne enjoyed visiting her five children, eleven grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren from coast to coast. Jeanne was a very generous person and was always “giving” to everyone she knew. She was always beautifully dressed and took pride in her appearance and her lovely home.

In a quote her niece wrote in Jeanne’s 90th birthday card, “God broke the mold when he made you! Your passion for life has always been contagious. I would venture to say the top of your Favorites List include your Five Favorite F’s: Family, Friends, Food, Fun, and Fashion. You have been the mother to five children and the surrogate mother to countless more (including me). You’ve been the woman behind the man and always there for everyone in your sphere of family and friends. Stories of your love, caring, and concern are legendary and I have no doubt that everyone who’s been fortunate enough to call you “Wife”, “Mother”, “Grandmother”, “Great-Grandmother”, “Aunt”, “Sister”, and “Friend”, have many of their own personal stories of you reaching out to love, care for, comfort, and counsel them from time and time again.”

Jeanne and Ted were honorary members of the Cornell Classes of 1939, 1941, 1944, 1948, 1952, and 1962. They were long time members of the Ithaca Yacht Club and Ithaca Country Club, and they were lifetime members of the Robert Trent Golf Club at Cornell University. Jeanne was a member of the Ithaca Duplicate Bridge Club and the Ladies Senior Social Golf Program. Also, she continued to be active in the Cornell Football Association and the Cornell Baseball Boosters Club.

Visitation hours will be held at St. Catherine of Siena Church, in Ithaca, New York on February 25th, 2020 from 10:00 am - 11:00am. A mass will immediately follow. A private burial will be at the Queen of Peace Mausoleum, Calvary Cemetery. All correspondence can be received at 1059 Hillsboro Cove Circle, Webster NY. 14580. In lieu of flowers, donations in Jeanne’s memory may be made to the Cornell Football Association, or to the Cornell Baseball Boosters Club in care of Cornell University Athletic Department.

Tuesday, February 25, 2020 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

St. Catherine of Siena Church 302 St. Catherine Circle Ithaca, NY 14850

Tuesday, February 25, 2020 11:00 AM

St. Catherine of Siena Church 302 St. Catherine Circle Ithaca, NY 14850