GUILDERLAND CENTER — Jean Bryson McCracken sewed not just to clothe her family but to engender in her daughters a creative spirit.

She died on Monday, June 22, 2015, twenty years after the death of her beloved husband. She was 86.

Mrs. McCracken was born in Laurel Springs, New Jersey, on June 17, 1929, and grew up a small-town girl, on a large wooded property with a family that embraced nature.

After finishing high school at the age of 17, she entered Drexel University as a home economics major, graduating in 1950 with a degree in teaching. It was while attending Drexel that she met the love of her life, Thomas McCracken, on a blind date.  They were married in Laurel Springs in 1952 and shortly thereafter moved to Unadilla, New York, where Mrs. McCracken began her teaching career.

“Jean and Tom had a loving and stable marriage, which set a good and lasting example for their children,” her family wrote in a tribute. They were married for 43 years, and spent most of that time living and raising three daughters in Guilderland Center.

While raising her daughters, Mrs. McCracken taught a variety of garment sewing, and quilting classes in the Guilderland School District Continuing Education Department. She made her own clothes, her children’s clothes, and sports coats for her husband, and at one time insisted mother and daughters have matching dresses and father a matching tie.

“Jean taught her girls to sew and in the process nurtured a creative spirit that continues to thrive in all three of them,” her family wrote.

She had many passions, including gardening, entertaining, and traveling the world with her husband.

One of the accomplishments she was most proud of was her position as co-chair of the Helderberg Architectural Committee during the rebuilding of the Helderberg Reformed Church from March 1986 to 1987.  This church was central to Mrs. McCracken’s community and she remained involved for as long as she was able. 

“We can now celebrate her life,” her family wrote, “as she has moved on to a better place with friends and family who have gone before.”

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Jean Bryson McCracken is survived by her three daughters, Susan Brunell, Amy McCracken, and Beth Swanson and her husband, Ross; four grandchildren, Adam and Ian Brunell, and Molly and Honna Swanson.  She is also survived by two siblings, Genevieve (“Georgie”) Jenkins and George Bryson.

A private burial will be held at the Guilderland Cemetery Association in Guilderland Center for family. A memorial service was held on Wednesday, July 1, at the Helderberg Reformed Church  in Guilderland Center. Arrangements are by the Fredendall Funeral Home of Altamont.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Helderberg Reformed Church, 435 Route 146, Guilderland Center, NY 12058.