Jeanne Hawver, 95, of Terrell, N.C., passed away on July 25, 2025. On June 11, 1930, this gem of a woman was born to Donald Charles Howe and Marian Kinsley, in Port Chester, N.Y. She graduated from high school in Canton, N.Y., where she enjoyed her time as a cheerleader. While growing up, she enjoyed horseback riding and outdoor skills competitions at the Campfire Club of America, where her father was friends with both Crazy Bull and the founder of the Boy Scouts, as well as numerous other pioneers of the time.
After high school, she attended Mrs. Alice E. Mastics Business School and Potsdam State Teachers College, where she was a member of the Alpha Delta sorority. She then worked as secretary to the director of admissions at Saint Lawrence University. It was at this time she met a handsome fella at Clarkson University who became her husband of 63 years, Joseph Stuart “Stu” Hawver. He predeceased her in 2014.
She was a woman of many interests, none more pronounced than her sincere concern for the wellbeing and stories of every person she met. She was an exceptional listener known for her compassion and ability to make everyone she met feel heard and seen, and was often sought out for advice or a sympathetic ear. She wasn’t one to tell you what to do; her gift was making you believe that whatever you wanted to do could be achieved.
She worked for years as a middle school teacher’s aide in her beloved hometown of East Aurora, N.Y., where she and Stu raised their four kids, Daniel of Terrell, N.C., Stuart “Stu” (Anita) of Big Sky, Mont., JoEllen “Joby” Rumberger (Rod) of Mechanicsburg, Pa., and Donna “D” (Anne) of Sherrills Ford, N.C.
Her greatest joys came from the accomplishments of her children, their children and her great-grandchildren – Tara Bibb (Greg) with Adelyn and Caden, Corey Rumberger (Sarah) with Liam, Paige and Mason, Kaitlin Trowbridge (Charlie) with Landon, Nora and one on the way, Connor Rumberger (Mary Kate) with Theo. She also cherished her nephews, Don Steel (Allison), and Jake Steel (Darcy). Her sister Kay, her husband Joe and their daughter Barb all predeceased her.
In their “second act,” Jeanne and Stu became proprietors of the Terrell Country Store in Terrell, N.C., creating a hub for the community and a resource for everything from hoop cheese to local crafts, Lake Norman T-shirts, oysters, antiques, beer, and those mouth-watering freshly made local doughnuts.
She enjoyed many years of book club with her friends. In her spare time, she became a successful arrowhead collector, walking miles of shoreline and fields in her quest. She was a volunteer at Lake Norman Regional Medical Center as well as Habitat for Humanity, and delivered Meals on Wheels for many years. She earned the distinguished State of N.C. Governor’s Award for Devotion to Volunteer Service.
A friend once said, “There is nobody who has met your mother who doesn’t love her. She is magnetic and an absolute treasure.” This magnetic treasure of a person showed us what it is to live by putting others first, trusting in them to find their way by providing love and faith in their abilities, and believing every encounter with another is a gift. It is so very true: To know her was to love her. She truly was and will be in all our days ahead — our sunshine.
The family plans to have a celebration of life at a place and time yet to be determined. Internment will be held at a later date in Fairview Cemetery, Canton, N.Y.
In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to Hospice and Palliative Care of Iredell County at t https://apps.hoic.org/donate-now or to the Alzheimer’s Association of America at https://www.alz.org/research.
Cavin-Cook Funeral Home, Mooresville, is serving the Hawver family. Condolences may be made to the family at www.cavin-cook.com.