Shortly after midnight on October 6, 1952, Jean Marie Cannon entered this world ready to discover what treasures lay ahead for her. Early on, even before her school years, Jean was a sponge, soaking up knowledge from books, -- any books she could get her hands on. Books were her life. And it got even more intense as she approached the first grade, and from that time on, that “yearning to learn” lasted her entire lifetime.
Elementary school years in Alabama and Ohio led to Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, Ohio where Jean thrived in the math and science curriculums. Education was foremost in her family, with Jean’s father, Tom, and her brother, Ed, both engineers. Jean attended the University of Utah, receiving her BS degree in Meteorology in 1975. Jean always marched to a “different drummer,” and that same beat was present at the University of Utah’s meteorology department, where Jean was the only woman in a class of about 25 other students, many of whom were in different branches of the military.
In 1979, Jean obtained her teaching degree from Boise State University in Boise, Idaho, and then attended the University of Southern California, graduating in 1981 with her MS degree in Systems Management. Education would be a deep-running theme in Jean’s life.
Service and dedication also ran deep in Jean’s life. Jean joined the U.S. Air Force in 1971 and was commissioned a second lieutenant after receiving her BS degree. Jean transitioned to the U.S. Air Force Reserves in 1976 and continued serving her country until retiring as a Major in 1993. In her 22 years in the military, Jean served as a meteorologist at numerous western U.S. Air Force bases. Tours of duty included England and assignments as Base Weather Commander at both Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona and Hunter Army Air Base in Georgia. Jean twice was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service and, in 1984, was named the Air Weather Service Reserve Outstanding Junior Office of the Year.
On October 25, 1975, Jean married Ken Parker in Boise, Idaho. Ken was a meteorologist for the National Weather Service at the time, and Jean decided to follow Ken to his future Weather Service assignments. During the 1980s, Jean worked for several aerospace defense companies as a systems or research analyst and programmer. But her biggest accomplishment was becoming a mother to Stephanie Danielle on October 15, 1986, a role Jean cherished most for the rest of her life.
In 1990 Jean and family returned to Boise for Ken’s final posting with the National Weather Service. Jean’s core of education and service led her to become a 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade math and science teacher at Sacred Heart Catholic School for the next 15 years. But this was not enough for Jean. She also became an adjunct professor in the Department of Geosciences at Boise State University for 20 years. In 2006, Jean was named the Idaho Elementary Teacher of the Year.
Jean constantly challenged her students to achieve higher goals than the students thought they could. In 1994, she founded an academic competition called Science Olympiad, a yearly multi-event STEM competition. Jean jumped at this opportunity to provide her students with another challenge. She formed several teams, and one of the school’s teams won the Idaho state title, rewarding the students with the opportunity to travel to Indiana University for the National Science Olympiad competition. That first year made Jean and her students more eager to take on this challenge. Jean’s Sacred Heart Science Olympiad teams won the Idaho state Science Olympiad competitions four out of the next six years -- rewarding her students with trips to the National competition at universities around the Nation.
Loving the Science Olympiad competition so much led Jean to become the Idaho Science Olympiad chairperson in 1995. Jean led the competition’s growth in Idaho for the next 24 years. The Idaho competition strengthened as more schools joined the competition, and the program expanded around the entire state.
Beginning in 2003, Jean’s reoccurring health issues increased to the end on November 8, 2021, with her passing. Her deteriorating health did not slow her down. With the support of family and friends, Jean continued teaching and challenging her students to achieve lofty goals. Jean’s poor health did not change her; if anything, it made her more determined. For example, a young doctor encouraged Jean to donate her body to medical science. Jean was enthralled with this idea and donated her body to Georgetown University Medical School so she could continue teaching future doctors.
Once Jean retired from teaching, she took up sewing and quilting and became really good at it, just like all the other activities that Jean undertook. She had award-winning quilts at the Western Idaho Fair, and baby quilts were finished faster than the babies could be delivered. Jean and Ken had a retirement bucket list goal to attend a baseball game in every major league stadium. In the end, Jean reached 28 of the 30 then-current major league stadiums, including nine stadiums that no longer exist.
Jean’s life was full of accomplishments: a mother, a partner, a veteran, an educator, a mentor, and a leader. A life full of wonderful accomplishments, many successful students, passions for hobbies and sports, and courageously battling health issues. Jean’s life and accomplishments did not end on November 8, 2021, Jean will continue fostering marine and coral reef growth offshore Maryland. She will travel to space and view the world that she loved.
