Jean Hannon was a fifth-generation San Franciscan, born and raised in the City by the Bay. Her parents were Thelma Mae Parsons Krieg and Charles Henry Krieg. Jean was educated in San Francisco at San Miguel Elementary School, James Denman Junior High School, and Balboa High School. She attended San Francisco City College, San Francisco State College, and the College of San Mateo.
In her early career Jean worked as a computer programmer for several large companies, including Fiberboard Products, Pabco Products, and Zenith Corp. She was a pioneer in the field of programming.
Jean married Lester C. Hannon, and they resided in San Mateo, California. Upon his death in 1977 Jean continued his successful bookkeeping business until her retirement in 1993. She then moved to the Napa Valley to be near her family, which includes her mother, two sisters, and many nieces and nephews.
Jean's interests included computers, rocks, minerals, jewelry and gems. She was an avid reader and loved science fiction and fantasy. Her favorite author was Anne McCaffery. Jean had a personal library of over 2,000 science fiction books.
During her illness, Jean made it known that she wished she had been born at the right time to be involved in the space program. She would have loved to have been an astronaut. When Celestis announced that Gene Roddenberry's ashes had been sent on a rocket into space, Jean said, "I want to go too." Now her dream is coming true.
The Earth is the cradle of mankind, but one does not live in the cradle forever.
-- Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Russian aerospace pioneer
