JEAN ELIAS, age 50, of Jackson Twp., NJ, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her loving family on Thursday, March 2, 2017, after a long and courageous battle with breast and brain cancer. You can read about Jean’s journey at caringbridge.org/visit/jeanelias. Jean is survived by her loving husband of 20 years, Jeffrey Elias, and their four adoring children: Emily, Grace, Robert, and Daniel; her parents, Kathleen and Richard Eyerman of Whiting, NJ; her in-laws, Gerald and Jacqueline Elias of Manchester Twp., NJ; her brothers, Joseph Eyerman and his wife Anh of Costa Mesa, CA, David Eyerman and his wife Linda of Stratford, CT, and Edward Eyerman and his husband Brandon Chowning of Costa Mesa, CA; her sister, Elizabeth Bobenrieth and her husband John of Costa Mesa, CA; her sister-in-law, Jodi (Elias) DePasquale and her husband Tony of Lake Hopatcong, NJ; her best friend in the world (next to Jeff), Valerie (Wright) Colborn and her husband Stephen of Fuquay Varina, NC; her nine nieces and nephews: Eric, Adam, Julie, George, Lili, Rocco, Jamie, Lauren, and Emma; and her two goddaughters, Abbi and Amanda.
Jean was born in New Brunswick, NJ, and grew up in South River, NJ. While at South River High School (Go Rams Go!), Jean excelled at athletics playing field hockey, basketball, and softball. Next, she attended The University of Dayton (Go Flyers!) in Dayton, OH. There, she played softball for four years while earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Systems Analysis. Upon graduation from college, she lived in West Worthington, OH, and was employed as a computer programmer by Nationwide Insurance in Columbus, OH. While working at Nationwide, Jean attended Otterbein College in Westerville, OH, where she earned her Master’s Degree in Teaching. In 1993, she moved back home to NJ to begin her new career in education. Jean was employed at Monroe Twp. High School in Monroe, NJ, where she taught math and computer programming while coaching field hockey, basketball, and softball at the high school. In 1994, she met Jeff at a math teachers’ workshop on the campus of Rutgers University. A special thank you to Bob and Esther, Jean and Jeff’s former bosses, for sending them to the best workshop ever. Jean and Jeff were married in 1996 and lived in Somerset, NJ, for six years before finally moving to Jackson in 2002.
While staying home to raise the children, Jean volunteered her time as a class mom and a coach for the kids in both basketball and softball. This year, Holbrook, our local Little League, will be presenting a deserving softball player with the first of an annual award in Jean’s name.
Thank you to all of the many doctors, nurses, and support staff at Fox Chase, Thomas Jefferson, and Meridian for all of their work with Jean. An extra special thank you to all of her amazing family, friends, neighbors, and groups for their endless support of Jean and her family over the last five years. Finally, thank you to everyone at Holisticare Hospice (holisticarehospice.org) for the love and support they showed Jean and her family at the end of her journey.
A celebration of Jean’s life will take place on Monday, March 20, 2017, with a Memorial Gathering from 2-4 & 7-9 PM at the George S. Hassler Funeral Home, 980 Bennetts Mills Rd., Jackson Twp., NJ 08527. Her Funeral Liturgy will be held on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, at 10:30 AM at St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church, 935 Bennetts Mills Rd., Jackson Twp., NJ. Please meet at church at 10:15 AM. In lieu of flowers and in loving memory of Jean, please help us educate people about Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) by donating to www.eraseibc.org, going to the direct link https://www.eraseibc.org/donate-shop-support-us/, or mailing directly to Erase IBC, PO Box 16, Milford, MI 48381. This organization was cofounded by Jean’s first oncology physician, Dr. Massimo Cristofanilli. For directions, further information and to send condolence messages to the family, please select a tab on the left.