Age 84, of River Falls, Wisconsin died Sunday, March 3, 2013 at the River Falls Area Hospital in River Falls, Wisconsin.Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Thursday, March 7, 2013 at the Hill Funeral Home in Ellsworth, WI with visitation from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. immediately prior to the service. Jean’s nephew, Rev. Steven Sullivan, will officiate and interment will be in the Greenwood Cemetery in River Falls, WI.

Jean was born on June 19, 1928 in Amery, Wisconsin to John and Frieda (Pedersen) Benson. She moved to Portage, Wisconsin in 1946 where she raised her family.  Jean had always dreamed of being a parochial school teacher.  She attended the Wisconsin Teachers College in Columbus, Wisconsin and took correspondence courses to obtain her two-year teaching certificate and taught 3^rd and 4^th grade at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Portage from 1968-1970.  In 1974 she completed her teaching degree at Concordia University in St. Paul, graduating summa cum laude after which she taught 1^st grade at St. Bridget School in River Falls.  After relocating to Watertown in 1987, she continued her love of teaching as a substitute teacher for all schools in the Watertown School District until 2000 when she retired due to her declining health.  Jean was a lifelong member of the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church and was dedicated to serving God in any way she could.

Surviving are her two sons, Larry(Alice) Epstein, of Green Bay; Richard Epstein, of Watertown; two daughters Debra (Dan) Stern, of River Falls, and Lori Epstein, of Columbus; one sister Marie (David) Rooke, of St. Paul, MN;  her beloved six grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and her nieces and nephews.

Cashman-Hill Funeral Home & Cremation Services, River Falls, is serving the family.