Jeanne Marie (Ferdon) Bergeron, incredible wife, mother, grandmother and friend to so many, passed away on March 8, 2022, after a 17-month battle with ovarian cancer. Jeanne’s life exemplified a wonderful balance of family, travel, intellectual engagement, life-long friendships and a love for teaching in her later years. Jeanne’s family was by far her greatest achievement and always brought her so much pride and joy.
Jeanne was born in 1946, in New York City to Frances Adeline (Milosky) Ferdon and Elliott Archer Ferdon, the second of two children. A quintessential baby boomer, Jeanne’s parents had both served during World War II; Elliott as a career US Army Air Force officer who was stationed in the Pacific theatre and Frances as a ‘Rosie the Riveter’ employee of Sperry Gyroscope on Long Island.
Jeanne grew up mostly in New York where she graduated in 1964, second in her High School class, from Woodhull Preparatory School. From there, she attended George Washington University in Washington D.C., graduating with a B.A. in Economics in 1968. Following College, Jeanne returned to her native New York and accepted a Business Analytics position at Morgan Bank. She always maintained that she accepted the position because Morgan was one of the first companies that did not ask her ‘how many words per minute she typed.
In April 1969, she met her husband, Carl, at Morgan Bank. What began as a chance meeting quickly blossomed into a courtship as they lived on the same subway line and that became the opportunity to enjoy dinner together and foster a serious relationship. Carl, 29, did not wait long before he proposed to Jeanne in his hometown area of Newport Beach, California. Their intended year-long engagement period was interrupted by the sudden death of her father, and they married in November 1969.
In 1971, Jeanne and Carl moved from Yonkers, NY to Little Silver, NJ to raise their growing family. And after the birth of their third child and desirous of waterfront living, they moved to Middletown, NJ to live on the banks of the Navesink River. Their home became the center of their family life.
Between 1970 and the early 1980’s, Jeanne was a full-time mother and focused on raising her young family. She did find time, however, to work part-time at the Stanger Report, a real estate letter to the investment community, and later as a substitute teacher in the Middletown Township school district, where she occasionally mortified her teenagers by showing up in their classrooms. Jeanne and Carl were both regular fixtures at their kids sporting, academic and major life events throughout their childhood and adult lives. No easy task with three competitive youngsters, but no event was too far to be present and attend. From early in their marriage, boating was an important part of their lives which dominated much of their leisure time. Summers were spent cruising the Long Island Sound together as a family, boating on the Navesink River and Sandy Hook Bay and socializing with friends at local yacht clubs. Building on service during her college years, Jeanne also took the initiative to host foreign students from France, Germany and Japan in order to broaden her family’s perspective. These students became lifelong friends. Jeanne was always welcoming to friends, making her home feel like a second home to so many.
After each of her children were in college or launched in their own careers, Jeanne decided to become a teacher and returned to school full-time to pursue her teaching degree. In 1997, Jeanne graduated from Monmouth University with an M.A. in Education with Honors. Shortly thereafter, she began a 15-year career teaching first grade at the Rumson Country Day School. Jeanne was loved by her students for her ability to make each of them feel special, known and capable. She was a strong proponent of multicultural learning in the lower school grades to promote diversity and celebration of varied cultural backgrounds. In this regard, she shared stories and artifacts of Africa with her students that she and Carl had collected in their travels, a hallmark of her unique style. Jeanne loved working with young children and her patience, kindness and positivity were gifts that contributed both to her and her students’ success.
Following her retirement from teaching in 2012, Jeanne traveled widely with Carl to Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada and throughout the US visiting both family and friends and dedicated herself to her six grandchildren. As a grandmother, fondly referred to as Gigi, Jeanne spent countless hours doting on her grandchildren. She loved reading, baking, swimming in the pool and playing cards and board games with them. There wasn’t a holiday, birthday or special moment that went by that she didn’t enjoy spoiling her grandchildren with a special treat. She was always there to support them with a beautiful smile and warm embrace congratulating them on their achievements.
Jeanne was diagnosed with cancer in the fall of 2020 and faced her illness with a positive and calm resolve, characteristic of the way she lived her life. She was known for always having a kind word, living her values, being an outstanding listener and making people feel heard and appreciated.
She is survived by her husband of 52 years, Carl and her three children, Jennifer Bergeron of Chevy Chase, MD (husband Joseph Nemec), Sarah Bergeron of Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ (husband Gordy Wagner), and David Bergeron of Charlotte, NC (wife Gina LoPresti Bergeron). She is also survived by her six grandchildren: Kyle LoPresti, Emma Wagner, Paige Bergeron, Jake Wagner, Ethan Bergeron and Meryl Nemec. Her only sibling, Elliott, predeceased her in 2013.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations in Jeanne’s name be sent to the following 2 charitable causes: 1. In honor of Jeanne's passion for teaching, the family requests donations are made to The Rumson Country Day School Library Fund. Write Checks Payable to: The Rumson Country Day School 35 Bellevue Avenue Rumson NJ, 07760 Memo: Jeanne Bergeron or Make a gift online: https://www.rcds.org/giving/make-a-gift-now Indicate: In Memory of Jeanne Bergeron 2. Memorial Sloan Kettering, platinum resistant ovarian cancer research fund Write Checks Payable to: Memorial Sloan Kettering PO Box 27106 New York, New York 10087 Memo: Fund Number 311-490, in remembrance of Jeanne Bergeron. Thompson Memorial Home of Red Bank, NJ has been entrusted with the arrangements.
