Mary Ann Jeavons
On June 6, after 90 very full years of life, our wonderful, beloved mother Mary Ann Jeavons passed away peacefully in her sleep at the West Virginia home of her daughter Tammy.
Born in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., Mary Ann lived in Swarthmore for more than 60 years. She raised us — her four, often unruly children — with grace, patience, and supportive love.
Even with a houseful of children, she managed to commute into Philadelphia to Drexel University where she got her master’s degree in library science. Her 29 years as an elementary school librarian in the Rose Tree Media School District allowed her to pass along her passion for books and learning to thousands of children.
She also found time to work on many other book-related projects. She was a founding member and board president of the Delaware County Library System; board president and longtime board member and volunteer at the Swarthmore Public Library; board president and board member of the Friends of the Swarthmore Public Library; and a long-time volunteer at the Friends Historical Library at Swarthmore College, where she helped with local historical research. Her intellectual curiosity about – and passionate interest in – local history also led her to serve, well into her late eighties, as a board member and volunteer at the Delaware County Historical Society, a founding member of the Swarthmore Historical Society, and a volunteer at both the Delaware County Archives and the historic Thomas Leiper House.
It was rare to see Mary Ann without at least one book in hand, but when you did, it was usually because she was happily pursuing one of her other great passions: gardening. She had decades of pleasure landscaping the yard of her longtime home on Dartmouth Circle, and continued to cultivate a lush balcony garden after her move to the Strath Haven condominiums.
When it became too difficult for our mom to continue living on her own, we were tremendously lucky that one of us, her daughter Tammy, was able to offer her a comfortable space and loving care in her home in West Virginia. There, she was often surrounded by (and sometimes happily ensconced in her favorite recliner with) her many young great-grandchildren.
Mary Ann is survived by her children, Tammy Lancaster of Charlestown, West Virginia; Rick Jeavons of Landenberg, Pennsylvania; and Alex Jeavons of Philadelphia; and her many grand- and great-grandchildren. Her daughter Leigh passed away in 2017.
Generous to the last, Mary Ann left her body to the Anatomy Gift Registry to further scientific and medical research.
In tribute to Mary Ann’s lifelong love of books and her decades as a children’s librarian, memorial donations can be made to a new project started by her son Alex: Kids Books Not Bombs. A project of the nonprofit Wooden Shoe Bookstore in Philadelphia, KBNB is devoted to the free distribution of kids and teen books to children who have limited access to books.
