Jean Gorton Wilson Tanous

July 28, 1922 - September 9, 2017

Jean Wilson Tanous, 95, of Austin, TX passed away the 9th of September 2017 at Brookdale Summit of Westlake. Jean was born July 28, 1922 in Newburgh, New York to Albert Hayman Wilson and Mae Brown Wilson. Jean’s childhood was divided between Newburgh, NY, Poughkeepsie, NY and Leonia, NJ. Jean loved animals, playing the trumpet and participating in scouting. In 1939, she was the last scout in Leonia to be awarded the highest honor – The Golden Eaglet. After graduating from Leonia HS in 1940, Jean attended Englewood Hospital School of Nursing where she received her RN degree. During WWII, Jean served as a second lieutenant in the Army Nurses Corp (WAC) stationed at Tilton Hospital at Ft Dix New Jersey where she served until May of 1946. She later worked as an RN at Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital. Jean married John Harrington Tanous, MD in 1951 in Miami Beach, FL and the couple had three children. During their 32 years of marriage, they lived Miami Shores, Arcadia, Williston, and Wauchula, FL. Jean found great pleasure in entertaining and was always a charming and gracious hostess, whether the event was a children’s party, a family cookout or an elegant dinner party. Jean and John loved dancing, socializing at the Miami Shores Country Club, and taking family vacations along the Florida coast, the Bahamas and mountains of North Carolina. After a living in Sun City for a brief period, Jean moved to The Summit Westlake Hills in Austin, TX where she lived happily for 16 years. Jean’s kindness towards others was remarkable and her joy for every day of her life was boundless. Jean savored countless holiday trips with her loving family and her birthday celebrations were always festive and memorable occasions. Jean was preceded in death by her parents Albert & Mae Wilson, husband John H. Tanous, sister Laura Wilson Bloxburg, and brother John Wilson. She is survived by her daughter Jeanne (Paul Hollis) Tanous of Austin, TX; sons John (Pam) Tanous of Marietta, GA and James P Tanous of Ocala, FL; grandsons James A Tanous and Benjamin Tanous; cousin Joan Cooney; sisters-in-law Josephine Korge and Maxine Tanous; nieces Helene Tanous, Evelyn Tanous, Kathy Bronstein, Joan Tanous, Jackie Tanous, and Ann Royal; nephews John Wilson, Fred Wilson, Peter Tanous, Alex Daoud, Frank Spears, Tom Korge, Bruce Tanous, Chris Korge, Andrew Korge; and her numerous grand-nieces and grand-nephews. A visitation will be held at Robarts Family Funeral Home 529 W. Main Street, Wauchula, FL at 9am Saturday, September 30, 2017. The family will be greeting friends and relatives at 9:30am. Burial will follow a graveside memorial service at 11am at Wauchula Cemetery. The family wishes to extend their gratitude to staff at The Summit, volunteers and dogs with Austin’s Divine Canines, doctors at Seton’s University Physicians Group, and the excellent nurses, chaplain, aides and volunteers with Brookdale Hospice. The family requests that memorial donations be made to The Hospice Foundation of America (hospicefoundation.org) and Divine Canines (divinecanines.org). When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. Khalil Gibran