Jean Unhjem passed away peacefully on Wednesday, April 7, 2021, just a few days short of her 97th birthday, at Glen Arden Continuing Care Retirement Community in Goshen.
She moved to Glen Arden in 2008 to be near her younger son, Erik.
Prior to moving to Goshen, she had lived on Staten Island (in Stapleton and St. George) for 50 years.
She was a retired New York Public Library employee, and long-time member of both the Wagner College Guild and Trinity Lutheran Church and, more recently, St. John’s Lutheran Church in Middletown.
Jean is survived by her two sons: Mark Unhjem in Needham, Mass., and Erik Unhjem and his wife, Nina Favata in Willsboro; four grandchildren: Kirsten Owens; Lars Unhjem and his wife Michelle Ouellette; Gayle Unhjem and husband Tim Eng); Matthew Unhjem; and her step-granddaughter Carly Fridhandler; four great-grandchildren: Alycia Owens, Charles Owens, Anders Unhjem and Olen Unhjem; her great-great-granddaughter Aurora Walton; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
She was predeceased by her husband the Rev. Dr. Arne Unhjem,and her sister Natalie Elaine (Rosin) Gould.
Jean was an inspiration to many with her strong faith and grace right up to the last days of her life.
And what a life it was! She traveled the globe, was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and friend. Family and friends were always a very important part of her life.
She was always joyous when her offspring, ultimately spanning five generations, visited, whether in small groups or all at once.
She maintained contact with many other family members and with her high school friends.
She leaves a legacy of love, kindness, unquestioning friendship, encouragement and influence on all she interacted with. She was one of the kindest and most loving persons, always willing to help others.
She was an advocate for Wagner College, where her husband, the Rev. Dr. Arne Unhjem, had been a professor, and for Glen Arden.
She will be remembered for her loving and generous heart, and will be greatly missed by those who knew her.
There are no words that express the sense of loss of such a wonderful woman.
Funeral services will be held at St John’s Lutheran Church in Middletown and a celebration of her life will be held in Brooklyn, both at dates to be determined in the near future.
Inurnment will be in her paternal grandparents’ plot in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
Arrangements by Donovan Funeral Home, Inc., Goshen (www.donovanfunerals.com).