Jeanne was born in Des Moines, Iowa on March 13, 1937 and passed away after a brief illness on Sunday, June 7, 2026. Jeanne was born the third of four children of Curtis and Elnora Wald. She was significantly younger than her brother Ken and sister Mary Louise. Her sister loved to dress her up in fine clothes, which Jeanne loved. Jeanne never lost her love for beautiful clothes and was stylish to the end. She graduated from East High School in Des Moines in 1955. She told an amusing story of her one and only game of golf for the high school team in which she was paired with the city champion. After graduation, Jeanne worked at the Des Moines Register and Tribute in the advertising department before heading to college. While there, she was recruited to model for a series of health and beauty articles that originated in the Des Moines Register newspaper but were syndicated throughout the United States. She loved her short-term gig as a model and held onto the photos her entire life. She went on to attend Simpson College, a small college located in Grinnell, Iowa, where she pledged Delta Delta Delta sorority. There she met her future husband, Max Irelan, who was resuming his college career after his military service during the Korean conflict. They married in 1957 and remained together until his death in 2019. Jeanne dropped out of college to support Max while he finished his degree. She worked various jobs to support Max, including as an operator for the Bell Telephone Company where she fortuitously met a young Senator John F. Kennedy while manning the press corps phone booths at a polling location in Iowa.

Jeanne raised three boys, Jon Frederick, Bradford Wald and Clifford "Kit" while Max’s employment took them from Iowa to Texas to Oklahoma and finally to Tennessee in 1964. Max and Jeanne made their home in Hendersonville, Tennessee, living there for almost 40 years. While in Tennessee, Jeanne resumed working to battle the boredom she found in being a stay-at-home mom. She went to work part-time at the Hendersonville Star News in the mid-1960’s as a writer and editor. Despite her truncated college education, Jeanne was always a prolific reader and, as a result, she had developed a command of the English language. She enjoyed writing for the newspaper and focused her writing on covering the burgeoning art scene in Middle Tennessee in the 1960’s. She became involved in a community theater program around this same time, directing and acting in various plays. Her interest in the arts did not go unnoticed. Jeanne was appointed the first director of the Hendersonville Arts Council in the early 1970’s. While she greatly enjoyed that role, Jeanne was eager for more challenges. She decided it was time to complete her education so she could achieve more fulfilling employment. She located a college, Stephens College in Missouri, which had a remote learning program that allowed her to obtain a degree from Tennessee. Jeanne reveled in her English studies and finished the program in 1988 at the top of her class. Her achievements were rewarded by being selected as the senior speaker at her commencement exercises, a recognition that brought her a great sense of pride. She went on to obtain a master’s degree in English from Tennessee State University in Nashville and secured a position teaching at Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin, Tennessee. She founded the writer’s center at VSCC and worked with many students over decades there to develop their writing skills sufficient to work at the college level. Jeanne retired from VSCC after 14 years in 1999.

During her teaching career, Jeanne was approached by a geologist friend, Bob Beaver, with an idea for a novel. She jumped at the opportunity to bring life to his concept. She wrote The Moho Conspiracy, an adventure novel premised on the true story of an effort to drill a hole to the mantle level of the earth. While Jeanne struggled to find a publisher for her first novel, the writing bug bit hard and she began churning out mystery and semi-autobiographical novels at a prodigious pace. In all, Jeanne wrote ten novels which she self-published. Her books continue to sell to this day on Amazon and other platforms.

After Max passed away, Jeanne found comfort in a routine that included weekly bridge with her dear friends, Flo Jean Schlosser, Eva Jane Schlosser and Mary Hill Baird. She also attended church at St. Michael’s Anglican and Trinity Lutheran and got together with her dear friend Patsy Robison for socials on a regular basis. Jeanne enjoyed catching up with friends and family to recount the latest events that amused her. Until health prevented her from doing so, she relished the opportunity to meet up with her granddaughter Molly and her fiancé Adam and catch up on their lives. She also delved deep into films and dramas as an escape from her sadness over the loss of her husband after so many years together. She transitioned into Korean dramas, watching hundreds before she branched out into other Asian dramas and finally returned to her beloved English period pieces.

Jeanne was predeceased by her husband Max, her parents Curtis and Elnora, her brother Kenneth and sister Mary. She will be missed and fondly remembered by her brother Alan (Karen), her sons, Jon (Patricia), Brad (Alison) and Clifford "Kit", grandchildren Jack (Estella), Molly, Courtney (Chris) and Madison, and great-grandchildren Max and Penelope Irelan and Valentina and Luca Simonelli. A special thanks to the remarkable team at Rosemary’s Cottage Hospice during her few remaining days.

A Memorial Church Service is scheduled for Saturday, July 25, 2026 at 10:00 am at Trinity Lutheran Church on Lock 4 Road in Gallatin. Immediately following will be a luncheon reception at Bluegrass Country Club in Hendersonville at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

Arrangements entrusted to Alexander Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 584 Nashville Pike, Gallatin. (615) 502-0011 Online condolences can be left at www.AlexanderGallatin.com