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Jean Krejci, PhD, (Mary Jean Gettelfinger) devoted wife, mother, grandmother, former Benedictine nun, teacher, anthropologist, Family Therapist, and Diversity Educator, died on November 30, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas. She was 90. Born in Palmyra, Indiana, Jean was one of 12 children in a Catholic farm family. With her strong Catholic upbringing, she entered the convent at age 15 in the Monastery of Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand, IN. Upon completion of her vows, she taught English in Indiana. As a nun, she studied Spanish intensively and spent ten years as a missionary/educator in Bogota and Cali, Colombia. However, by the late 1960s, motivated by social justice and women’s rights, she left the convent for Notre Dame. There, she obtained her Masters in anthropology and met her future husband (former priest) John Krejci. It was an instant attraction with many common interests. They worshipped and protested together while he taught her to ice skate and fish. Their “secret” marriage in the Chapel under the Golden dome became campus lore. Together they embarked on a 20-year anthropologic study in remote mountains of Mexico. Jean and John settled in Nebraska, raising 3 children while she worked as a family therapist. One of her proudest accomplishments was earning her Ph.D. through the University of Nebraska Lincoln at age 57. With this, she advocated for minorities and the disadvantaged through the Healthy Homes Program and as the Diversity Director for the Lincoln Health Department. She continued to lecture on wellness and cultural competency into her 80s. Jean loved folk music and singing in church. Jean and John celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2021, shortly before his death. Once widowed, she moved to San Antonio, TX with her daughter where she enjoyed warm weather and a full life of family, friendship, music, and Nebraska football games to the end. Jean is survived by her three children, John Mark Krejci Ph.D. and Jeanie Krejci of Lincoln; Jennifer Krejci-Manwaring M.D., son-in-law Ted Manwaring, and grandchildren, Merric and Morgan Manwaring of San Antonio, TX; her sisters Sr. Norma Gettelfinger and Carol Gettelfinger of Indiana, She is preceded in death by her husband John Krejci, siblings: Thelma Lewis, Jim, Harold , Frank, Sr. Ann Janette, Tom, and Dennis Gettelfinger. Funeral Mass will be held at St. Matthew's Church in San Antonio December 17th at 2:00, streaming service will be available on this memorial. Please join for a gathering of family and friends immediately following the service at St. Matthew’s Parish Hall. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Center for People in Lincoln, Nebraska ~ https://centerforpeople.org/

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Jean Krejci, PhD

August 16, 1934 - November 30, 2024