OBITUARY: Jean McTigue slipped the temporal bonds of earth and joined her loving husband Bill in the afterlife on Saturday, 22 September, 2018. She passed away peacefully and with God's love, in her home.

Jean was part of what is described as "the greatest generation". She enjoyed 93 years of love, accomplishment and family.

Born in Volant, PA in 1925, Jean was raised with her four siblings Elana, Dean, Betty and Earl, by their parents Paul and Florence McBride, on a small dairy farm, during the Great Depression. Jean graduated Valedictorian from a class of fourteen at Plain Grove High School and went on to St. Francis School of Nursing in Pittsburgh, PA. She matriculated during World War II and like many around her, was excited to help her country in its time of need. There, she signed up for the US Nurse Cadet Corps. Upon her graduation in 1946 she went to work at the St. Francis hospital as a ward nurse but was soon elevated to an emergency room surgical nurse. She later became an industrial surgical nurse for US Steel Corporation.

Jean met her future husband Bill McTigue and began a romance that took them from Pittsburgh to Washington DC where Bill rejoined Army intelligence when the Korean War erupted in 1950. Engaged in the spring of 1951, they were wed in a simple ceremony at Our Lady of Victory Church in Washington on October 6th 1951. Bill and Jean moved to Dun Loring, VA. Jean began work with the Red Cross Bloodmobile and their first 3 children soon followed.

Bill's assignments during the emerging Cold War took them to Paris, France and then Heidelberg, Germany where their 4th child was born. After 4 years they were back in Washington DC. By 1963, with an assignment to the Pentagon, Bill and Jean settled in a small development called Ancient Oak in Darnestown, MD and brought 2 more children into the family. With more mouths to feed Jean went back to nursing while raising her 6 children, first at a Bethesda nursing home, then in Gaithersburg and Germantown MD.

Jean and Bill were also civically active in their new neighborhood, starting a neighborhood civic association, a monthly newsletter called the "Little Acorn" (still in print today), and carving out a ball park on a plot of ground volunteered by a local farmer. Jean and Bill loved the neighborhood and all the kids that joined the McTigues for swimming, dinners and overnights.

When Bill retired in 1975, they bought a farm and moved to Wolfsville, MD to continue their family saga. Over the next 14 years Bill learned to be a gentleman farmer, Jean continued her nursing in Frederick, and they both prepared their 3 remaining children for careers, college and the military. Soon thereafter, they decided to sell their farm and move into Frederick where for more than 10 years Jean and Bill watched their family grow and enjoyed the St. John's community and the American Legion. Bill, the love of Jean's life, passed away Thursday April 13th, 2000 at home and under her loving care.

Jean continued her work in Frederick as a geriatric nurse well into her eighties, loved to care for and interact with all her grandchildren and great grandchild, and was a steadfast member of the St. John's Catholic Church in Frederick. Jean lived by the credo given her by the Sisters of St. Francis of Millvale who instructed her in nursing school: "You must see Jesus Christ in everyone you care for". She did.

Surviving Jean are three daughters, Kathleen Marie McTigue of Germantown, Joyce McTigue Migliorini and husband Lou of Darnestown, and Kelley and husband Scott (deceased) Argraves of Charleston, S.C.; three sons, William Kevin McTigue and wife Lisa of Darnestown, Paul Christopher McTigue and wife Kimberly of Wolfsville, and Matthew Martin McTigue and wife Patti of Boonsboro; twelve grandchildren, Lauren, Caitlin, Alicia, Julia, Kipling, Livia, Connor, Megan, Mikayela, Allison, Cecelia, and Ebbie; one great granddaughter, Shelby; and a number of nieces and nephews.

Friends may attend the viewing from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday, October 1st, at Keeney and Basford Funeral Home, 106 E. Church St., Frederick MD, 21701. The Rosary will be recited at 6:30 p.m.

A funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, October 2nd at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, 118 E. 2nd St. Frederick Maryland 21701, with the Father Kevin Farmer, pastor of the church, as the celebrant.

Interment will be in St. John's Catholic Cemetery, East 3rd Street Frederick, Maryland 21701

Those desiring may send memorials to St. John's Catholic Church, 116 E. Second St., Frederick, Md. 21701, or if preferred, a donation to one of Jean's favorites or other charities as desired:

St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church or The Brain Tumor Society.

Online condolences may be shared at www.keeneybasford.com.

Published Online in The Frederick News-Post from Sept. 24 to Sept. 28, 2018