Obituary of Jean (Radosevich) Dahl

Jean Mary Catherine Radosevich Dahl passed away peacefully on February 2, 2024, with her loving family by her side.  They knew her as Jeannie, Jeannie Beannie, Pretty Lady #1, Deebers, Momma D, and Rubbie.

 

Jeannie was welcomed into the world on March 31, 1947, by her parents, Jack and Hilda (Curtis) Radosevich, and her brother, Jackie, and sister, Joyce. Jeannie grew up in Tieton, Washington, on her family's orchard that overlooked the Naches Valley. She had so many great memories and stories but one she would always talk about was how beautiful the cherry and apple blossoms were every spring.

 

Jeannie enjoyed her family trips to the ocean every year.  They would stop by to visit family before and stop by to see more family on the way back from their trip.  The sports fan family loved to take in Sunday double-header Yakima Bears baseball games.  Jeannie and Joyce were more interested in the players’ wives and children than the game.  Throughout the summer, the girls would pretend to be players’ wives and jump into the car with dolls.  They pretended to drive to the game and then sit on the porch acting like they were the players’ wives for hours. 

 

The two also set up a fruit stand on the road at the farm but fled when the first car pulled up for the fear of being kidnapped.  When Jeannie got a little older, she had the job of keeping record of what was picked in the cherries.  It was a large crew but her counts were always accurate. She loved accounting and was always good at it.  The workers loved Jeannie; she always had water and conversations with them.  Jeannie, as a teen, also had a job at a Cowiche Cafe and was extraordinary at keeping track of her "tips." She loved her "yenom.”

 

Jeannie attended Tieton grade school and junior high.  She graduated from Highland High School in 1965.  She had so many great memories with her classmates since she was social chairman all four years. She had the same outgoing personality that people would be drawn to for the rest of her life. She loved to dance and won many competitions.  She was on the "Scottie" drill team for two years and was a cheerleader for two years.  A story she would always tell was how her dad always told his girls proudly that Joyce would be Miss Tieton and the next year Joyce would crown Jean Miss Tieton.  Jack was able to watch that proud moment and passed a few weeks later.

 

After high school, Jeannie went on to Yakima Valley College for two years to continue her cheerleading career.  She liked to say she majored in "Student Union Building."  She also learned how to be fashionably late (a trait she held onto for life).  However, parking in the professors-only parking lot to save time brought on many fines.  Her diploma sits in the delinquent fine file at YVC to this date.

 

In the summer of 1967, Jeannie met her future husband, Mike, at the downtown dance hall.  Unfortunately, she had plans to move to Hawaii with a couple of girlfriends (Dianne Williams and Rosie Keller).  She got a job at Thom McCann shoe store after promising the manager she was there for good.  Well two months later, she moved back to Seattle because she missed Mike too much.  Jeannie got a job in Seattle at Peoples National Bank in the Trust Division as a secretary to bank founder, Joshua Green.  Jean and Mike got engaged in spring of 1968.  In November, Jean moved down to Olympia and, on November 13, 1968, she started her job at Puget Sound Energy/Puget Power.  She loved her time at PSE and worked in Olympia and Tacoma for 52 and a half years, longer than any other employee.  She started as a cashier but quickly became a secretary for the managers due to her uncanny shorthand, dictation, and typing skills.  She ended her PSE career in The Right of Way Department in Tacoma, Washington.

 

Jeannie and Mike got married on March 22, 1969.  She helped Mike get his degree at St. Martin’s University by typing all his papers.  He likes to say Jean got an honorary degree from SMU.  She also spent a lot of time watching Mike play softball, basketball, and hanging out with friends. 

 

In 1974, her favorite son, Brandon, was born and, in 1977, her favorite daughter, Shayla, was born.  She loved being a mother to her two kids.  She was the best mother to them and loved them so much. She was always their number one cheerleader in anything they were into. She loved going to all their sporting events, playing games, just hanging out with them, and planning their family vacations from Lake Chelan, Sunriver, Disneyland, and Disneyworld. She and her daughter got to travel several places together.

 

Jeannie was always there for her family.  She was the rock in the hard times of her family’s health issues.  Her greatest joy was her grandson, Tanner.  They had a special bond. She loved watching him grow up into the boy that he is and went to all his sporting events, even soccer. They would give each other little kisses; Tanner would wipe it off and she would say don't wipe it off. He just did it so he could get another kiss by her.  They would laugh about it. She also felt very blessed having special bonus grandchildren, Kyle Hemphill, and Jordan, Faith and Hope Thomas.  She loved them and was so proud of them. She also loved all her animals in her life.  She would always talk about the ones she had growing up and the ones throughout her adult life. They were very spoiled with love by her.

 

Every year after the kids left the house, Jeannie and Mike would go to Maui in the spring or fall and just enjoy the relaxation, shopping, and great dining. Their kids joined them a couple of times. In the winter, they would travel to Indian Wells with great friends, Bill and Colleen Brown, and Mike’s brother-in-law and sister, Mike and Patty Palmer.  Jean loved the entertainment, dining, and shopping there. Her slogan while packing always was "El Paseo Drive, here I come."

 

Jeannie and Mike have had St. Martin’s men's and women's basketball season tickets for decades.  They and their family have traveled from Alaska to San Diego to cheer on their team over the years.  One of her best moments was last year (2023) being inducted into St. Martin’s University Athletic Hall of Honor.  She spoke of St. Martin’s as one big happy family. In her last couple of years, she became a huge fan of the Mariners and watched every game.  She also got into Division One basketball and won the March Madness Championship.

 

Jeannie is preceded in death by her father, Jack, and her mother, Hilda Radosevich; her father-in-law, Archie, and mother-in-law, Margaret Dahl; niece, Lorie Palmer Cliggott.  Jeannie is survived by her husband of 55 years, Mike; son, Brandon; daughter, Shayla Hemphill (Mike); grandson, Tanner Hemphill; grandkids by heart, Kyle Hemphill, Jordan Thomas, Faith Thomas and Hope Thomas; brother Jack (Judy) Radosevich; sister, Joyce Lloyd; brother-in-law, Jeff (Candi) Dahl; sisters-in-law, Patty (Mike) Palmer, Susan (Bob) Cram; nephews, Todd (Tracy) Lloyd, James Lloyd, Tim (Angie) Lloyd, Sigala Hernandez, Jeffery Dahl, Thomas (Danielle) Dahl, Josh (Alison) Cram, Todd Cliggott; and nieces, Nicole Radosevich (Alejandro Hernandez), Reagan Radosevich (Adam Landry), Mya Radosevich, Cheyenne Lloyd, Skylar Lloyd, Riley Lloyd, Lisa (Greg) Loomis, Leanne (Darren) Watts, Anna (Chris) Jackson, Angie (Trevor) Lyle, and Kaylee Cram.

 

Jeannie was absolutely blue-eyed beautiful, but she was even more beautiful inside.  She was such a sweet, kind, and generous lady that everyone she met loved to give her hugs.  Jeannie is now getting hugs in the arms of her Savior, our Lord Jesus.  Jeannie is a member of St. Michael Catholic Church in Olympia.

 

Services will be held on Friday, February 23, 2024, at St. Michael Catholic Church, 1055 Boundary St. SE, Olympia, WA 98501. There will be a Rosary at 11:15 a.m., a Funeral Mass at 11:45 a.m., and a reception following the Mass.

 

There also will be a Celebration of Jean’s life on Sunday, April 14, 2024, 3:00 p.m. at St. Martin’s University Worthington Center 5300 Pacific Ave. SE, Lacey, WA 98503. Everyone is invited to celebrate Jeannie's beautiful life. Please RSVP by March 31, 2024, to jeandahl@rainierconnect.com.

 

If you are inclined to make a Memorial Contribution, family suggests the "Jeannie Dahl Cheer and Basketball Endowment Fund" at St. Martin's University, which may be accessed HERE.  

 

“We will love you Jeannie forever and miss you forever.  We love you more than our arms can reach out. Love you long time. We love you, Jeannie Beannie.”

 

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