Jean Reynolds

Jean Lull Reynolds, 96, died at home in St. Paul, MN on Monday, September 6, 2021. Born on May 18, 1925 to Ruth Cole Lull and Raymond Lull in Fremont, Ohio, she was baptized and confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church, where she taught the three-year-old Sunday School class for many years.

A 1943 graduate of Fremont Ross High School, she earned a BS degree at Bowling Green State University and a MSW degree at Case-Western Reserve University. She did additional graduate study at Smith College. In her profession as a social worker, Jean worked for more than twenty years at Children’s Services in Cleveland, placing 206 infants and children for adoption. Following her marriage in 1973 to William J. Reynolds, she moved to South Orange, NJ and continued work as a social worker at Vailsburg Senior Center in Newark and later as Senior Social Worker at St. Barnabas Hospital in Livingston, NJ.

As a couple, Jean and Bill Reynolds enjoyed travels to Europe and Bermuda. They spent time each winter in the Catskills, as members of the Alpine Ski Club, Margaretville, NY. Jean was a member of St. John Lutheran Church in Summit, NJ and was a regular donor to the food pantry at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in South Orange. She served on an early hospice advisory board at Seton Hall University.

In December of 2020, Jean moved to St. Paul, MN to live with her sister Patricia. She made wonderful friends of her caregivers and new neighbors. She was a cheerful companion, great card player, and telephone friend to people all over the country. She ended her Facebook posts with “love and prayers”, an attitude she maintained throughout her life.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, Timothy Lull, and her husband, William Reynolds. She is survived by her sisters, Kathleen and Paul Seaton, Wayne, PA, the Rev. Patricia Lull, Bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod of the ELCA in St. Paul, MN, and sister-in-law, Mary Carlton Lull, Berkeley, CA.

She was a wonderfully involved and supportive aunt to Christopher and Julie Lull and children, Taylor and Hunter, Berkeley, CA; Erin Seaton and Steven Lorenz and children David and Cady, West Newbury, MA; Peter Lull, Berkeley, CA; Daniel Seaton and Mindi Wisman and children, Willem and Amalie, Boulder, CO; Kara Seaton and Yoni Greenspan, St. Louis Park, MN; Timothy Seaton and Courtney Kupersmith and daughter, Frida Jean, Santiago, Chile; and Andrew Seaton, Wayne, PA.

Jean’s family expresses gratitude to three extraordinary caregivers, Pat Schwab, Maryanna Schaeffer, and Beth Mangold, who filled the last season of her life with joy. A Service of Christian Burial will be held in Fremont, Ohio at a future date.