Jeanne Gilmore gave up this earthly existence with grace and dignity in the comfort of her home on the evening of the 2nd of February 2009. Jeanne had been constantly tended by her family and friends the last several months in her struggle with cancer. She died peacefully and without pain. She was 86 years old. As Jeanne so loved to say, she was born in Tuskahoma Oklahoma, Pushmataha County, somewhere in the Kiamichi Mountains, the heart of the Choctaw Nation. What she didn't like to recall were the circumstances of her childhood. She was born the first child to Gene and Myrtle Dunlap on April 23, 1922 in the "shack" her family called home while her father worked the oilfields in neighboring States as a driller, coming home infrequently between finding work. Jeanne's family moved several times during her childhood and settled for a while in Afton Oklahoma, where she met a young Roy Gilmore who worked in his grandfather's general store. They were married on August 31, 1940. Their first child, Nancy Mifawnwy or "Miffy" was born two years later. Jeanne's husband Roy joined the Army Air Corps in 1944, and was transferred to the regular army in boot camp, then spent two years in Japan assisting in the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. During Roy's tour of duty in Japan, Jeanne's family heard that a person could actually make $1 and hour at a place called Hanford Washington, so they moved to the Tri Cities at that time. Jeanne was employed as a mail carrier at Hanford until Roy returned. Their second child, Robert was born to them in May of 1949. Jeanne and Roy built a nice home on S. Jefferson in Kennewick in the early '50's. Then in 1964 Roy built Jeanne's present home on W. Metaline Pl. which she loved to decorate and where she loved to raise roses and tomatoes on the land. Jeanne was well known for her delicious cooking and her meticulous house keeping. She was also well known for her love of beauty and bright colors which manifested in what she wore and in her decorating of home and property. She raised the biggest, the reddest, the juiciest and the tastiest tomatoes. They are still available locally and are known as "Jeanne's Tomatoes". Jeanne loved to dance in her later years and was regularly seen at various weekend gatherings dancing the night away. Jeanne and Roy also took in several foster children and children of family members to assist them in their formative years. Jeanne loved animals and they were a big part of her life. Her own children remember the family pets as being Jeanne's "other kids". Those who knew her also knew Fritz, Smokey, Princess and Queenie, Ralph and, of course, her beloved Brownie. Up until the day Jeanne passed away, she enjoyed watching the squirrels and quail inhabiting her back yard. Jeanne had a very independent nature about her and lived a life that was secure in many ways, yet adventurous in others. She could be extremely kind and quiet, but at other times be raucous and abrupt. Those who knew her well and loved her accepted these dichotomies as part of a complex, beautiful woman who was far from typical in almost every aspect of her life. Jeanne was preceded in death by her parents Gene and Myrtle Dunlap, her husband Roy in November of 1993, her youngest sister Doris in February of 2007, and her special friend, Gerald "Jerry" Bell. Jeanne is survived by her sister, Bernice John Yacko, her daughter Mifawnwy "Mif" James "The Troll" Carlson of Olalla Washington and her son Robert "Bob" Gilmore of Eden Utah, and eight grandchildren which include Mif's five children, Kelli Jeanne Masaki Sugihara, Lauri Decker James Harper, Anni Mifawnwy Decker, Cristopher Lorrain Decker, Holli Decker, and Bob's three children, Sara "Ginny" Virginia Eric Buhler, Robert William Gilmore and Benjamin Mark Casteel Gilmore and ten great grandchildren. Also, part of Jeanne's surviving family are Bruce Elsie Kirkendall and Kathleen Marie Robert Leale, and a dear friend, Harold Neal Gardner. Jeanne's viewing will be held on the evening of Friday, the 13th of February at Mueller's Tri-Cities Funeral Home between 5:00pm and 8:00pm. A graveside service will be held the following morning at Desert Lawn Memorial Park at 10:00am. Following Jeanne's graveside service, a gathering will occur at Jeanne's home at 2904 W. Metaline Pl. in Kennewick starting at 11:30am and lasting until 3:00pm for conversation and sharing memories of her life. As per Jeanne's wishes, in lieu of flowers, please make a donation to an animal charity of your choice.