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Birth:          20 Dec 1929 Philadelphia, Pa.
Death:          8 Dec 2014 Orinda, Cal.
Cause of Death: breast cancer

Notes
!PUBL
1930 in Penn-Wynne, Lower Merion Twp., Montgomery Co., Pa. age 3y
1940 in Lower Merion, Montgomery Co., Pa. as Jean
www.angelfire.com/ks/landzastanza/jcsbio.pdf
Class of 1947 Lower Merion HS per classmates.com
18 Feb 1963 Bridgeport Post p 36, graduate of Penn Hall, Drexel, is teacher in NYC 
public sch system (article in file)
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?pid=173661790
Jean Thomas Lyford. Born December 20, 1929 in Philadelphia, PA. Died after a fight 
with breast cancer, on December 8, 2014, at her home in Orinda, CA.

 Jean Lyford was born and raised in suburban Philadelphia, the first child of Lewis and 
Margaretta Thomas. She had two marriages, the first to Jerry McKee, and the second 
to Joseph Philip Lyford. She and Joseph had two children, Amy and Joseph Jr. 

 Jean earned a degree in Business Administration from Drexel University in 
Philadelphia, and did graduate work in Victorian literature at Columbia University in 
New York. She earned a teaching credential from Teacher's College at Columbia 
University, after which she taught kindergarten at the Dalton School in Manhattan, 
and junior high school in Brooklyn. Jean taught 7th grade science at both Pine Grove 
and then Orinda Intermediate Schools in Orinda, CA. She later earned an MA in 
School Administration at St. Mary's College in Moraga, CA, and served as principal of 
Orinda Intermediate and interim principal of Del Rey Elementary School (both Orinda, 
CA). 

 Following her professional work in the Orinda schools, Jean served as a Trustee on 
the Board of the Orinda Union School District. She was a member, and the first female 
President, of the Orinda Rotary Club; a member of the Orinda Women's Club; and an 
active participant in the Hummingwords Writing Workshop. She wrote four books of 
poetry, all published with Azalea Art Press: Waves of Time (2011), Remembrances 
(2013), Waiting for the Wind, and Opening (both 2014).

 Jean Lyford was pre-deceased by her husband, Joseph Lyford, in 1992. She is 
survived by her brothers, E. J. Baylis Thomas III (New York, NY) and Lewis J. Thomas, 
Jr. (St. Louis, MO); her children Amy Lyford (Altadena, CA) and Joseph P. Lyford, Jr. 
(Orinda, CA); her grandchildren Eve and Willa Lyford (Orinda, CA); her daughter- and 
son-in law, Stephanie Brown (Orinda, CA) and David Clegg (Altadena, CA); and her 
sister-in-law, Norma Hurlburt (New York, NY).

 A celebration of Jean's life will be held at 12noon on Monday January 12, 2015 at the 
Brazilian Room in Tilden Park: Wildcat Canyon Road at Shasta Road, Berkeley, CA 
94708. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in honor of Jean Lyford to the 
Educational Foundation of Orinda: http://orindaefo.org/  .

Published on NYTimes.com from Dec. 30 to Dec. 31, 2014 

Parents
THOMAS Lewis Jones (28 Dec 1906 - 13 Sep 1976)
SCHMID Margaretta Eleanore (29 Apr 1906 - 23 May 1990)

Siblings
THOMAS Margaretta Jean (20 Dec 1929 - 8 Dec 2014)
THOMAS Lewis Jones ()
THOMAS Edward Joseph Bayliss ()

Marriage To MCKEE Jerry ()
    m.  

Notes


Marriage To LYFORD Joseph Philip (4 Aug 1918 - 2 Dec 1992)
    m. 16 Feb 1963 Plaza Hotel, New York, N.Y.

Notes

Parents
LYFORD Philip ()
PRAY Ruth ()

Children by LYFORD Joseph Philip 4 Aug 1918 - 2 Dec 1992
LYFORD Amy Jean ()
LYFORD Joseph Philip ()

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