Kalas Funeral Home & Crematory

Gladys Jean Nolan
June 8, 1928 – August 11, 1922
94 years old

Jean passed peacefully surrounded by her family and is survived by her daughter, Lorraine Reed Birks; sons John William Reed, Jr., Gregory James Reed; son-in-law James Vernon Clatterbuck, III; daughter-in-laws Christel H. Reed, Lee Ann Stedman Reed; grandsons James Michael Birks, John Christopher Birks, John William Reed, III; granddaughters-in-law Rebecca Mackay Birks, Heather Brodin Birks; great-grandsons James Douglas Birks, Michael Broderick Birks, William Christopher Birks, Collin Michael Birks; great granddaughter Victoria Way Birks; great granddaughter-in-laws Aubrey Vaughan Birks, Starr Kytta Birks. Jean was the youngest of William and Gladys Nadia Doolan’s three children. Her older siblings were William Edward Doolan and Laura Elizabeth Garnett.

Jean’s youth was filled with dancing school and its performances, including tap and ballet. She graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1946. Jean and John William Reed were married in 1947 and settled into their home in Takoma Park, MD, in 1949. Jean remained very close to her family. Her sister lived around the corner. The two of them with their mother were constantly together shopping, going out to lunch, visiting the beauty parlor weekly… Most of her large extended family of aunts, uncles and cousins remained in the DC area and enjoyed frequent gatherings. Her high school sorority sisters were another lifelong treasure. The sorority couples shared many good times over the years. Jean was very active in her church, attending weekly service and teaching Sunday school, and she would listen to the weekly broadcast of Rev. Dr. Bauman from Foundry United Methodist Church. She loved music and usually had an album playing on her stereo – the crooners and musical sound tracks of the 1950s and 60s.

Jean’s father and mother were very active in the Almas Temple Shriners, supporting Shriners Hospitals for Children to provide pediatric specialty care and research. Her father was Grand Potentate in the 1950s. Jean, her mother and her sister were active in the Ladies Shriners. Jean served as Grand High Priestess of the Ladies Oriental Shrine in 1974-75. 
Jean’s husband became disabled in 1962 from a brain aneurysm and spent the rest of his life at Perry Point Veterans Hospital, several hours away. Jean was devoted to him, visiting every week until his death in 1985, while also raising their three children alone. As the kids grew up and left home, they all continued to gather every week at Mom’s for Thursday Night Dinner. 

After John’s death, Jean was remarried to Patrick Francis Nolan in 1986 and was loved by his two children, John Nolan and Melody Nolan Tippett Smith, and grandchildren, Keith and Christopher Tippett. Jean and Pat began traveling with Jean’s mother and sister and enjoyed many wonderful destinations. When Pat passed in 1996, Jean moved to Leisure World in Silver Spring, MD. She became very active with Inter-Faith Chapel, changing the altar between Christian and Jewish services and volunteering wherever else she was needed. She enjoyed playing cards with her friends every week, kept active with Tai Chi, always had a jigsaw puzzle in progress, and loved to sit on her sun porch on a sunny day. 

With the onset of dementia and the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, she moved to an apartment at Brightview Assisted Living in Edgewater in 2017. Within two years she fell twice, breaking her hip, and needed to relocate once again to Crofton Care and Rehab Center. Each of her kids visited her weekly, as well as taking her out regularly to a family group lunch for as long as she was able to transfer into a car. She was fortunate to have the window-side bed in her room. She and her mother always loved to watch the birds, so we hung bird feeders just outside. We were also able to visit through her window during the long COVID lockdown. Jean was the last of her generation’s family and friends. It is comforting to think of them all welcoming her home.

A memorial service will be held on Monday, September 12, 2022 at 10:30am in the Inter-Faith Chapel, 3680 S Leisure World Blvd, Silver Spring, MD 20906. A Celebration of Life Reception will follow on at 12:00pm in the Clubhouse Grill, Leisure World, Clubhouse I, 3700 Rossmoor Blvd, Silver Spring, MD 20906

In lieu of flowers, a memorial donation can be made to the <a href="https://act.alz.org/site/Donation2?df_id=32112&32112.donation=form1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paidsearch&utm_campaign=google_giving&s_subsrc=giving&gclid=Cj0KCQjwl92XBhC7ARIsAHLl9anyPx02q3NbZ9pq6ic8UY7F_0zbF6LkPMTqV4WBzjk0VNpLs33iA7QaArLZEALw_wcB">Alzheimer's Association</a> (225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601), or memorial tributes can be made for the planting of <a href="https://kalasfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/Jean-Nolan-8980/memorial-trees">Memorial Trees</a>.

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The family would like to thank all who have expressed thoughts and prayers for our family.

Jean Nolan

Jean Nolan

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