V. Jean Haefner

Jean Haefner, July 7, 1940 – April 20, 2025 The family of Jean (Martin) Haefner wish to announce her passing on April 20, 2025 at her home in Kirkwood, Missouri. Jean passed on Easter Sunday just 7 weeks after the passing of her beloved husband of 59 years, Lonnie Edward Haefner. Jean is survived by daughter Erica Haefner Ferro (David), son Bradley Martin Haefner, grandson Dylan Joseph Haefner, sister Ann (Martin) Kremer (William), brother Lowell Martin (Ginny), brother-in-law David Wuenscher, 7 nieces and nephews, and adored dog Cherokee. Jean was preceded in death by her father, Cletis Martin, mother, Georgia (Thompson) Martin, sister Loretta (Martin) Wuenscher and nephew William Kremer Jr. Jean was born July 7, 1940, in St Louis, Missouri to a creative and artistic family. She was the youngest of four siblings. She graduated from Normandy High School and began work as an Administrative Assistant. After several years with different companies in the St Louis area, she began a position with the St Louis County Division of Traffic. There, she met the love of her life, Lonnie, and they married six months later in a small private ceremony. Not long after, Jean & Lonnie moved to Chicago, where they became lifelong “superfans” of the Northwestern Wildcats. After living in Washington, DC and Detroit, they decided St. Louis would be their true home. They loved living in Kirkwood, and raised Brad & Erica to work hard, enjoy the outdoors, and take good care of their family of rescue dogs. Though a busy working Mom, Jean enjoyed her independence and made time for her passions including gardening, reading, decorating, sewing, listening to music and word puzzles. She could grow any plant into something beautiful and loved spending time working in her yard. Beating her adult children at Scrabble made her day. Jean was devoted to her family, and fiercely protective of her loved ones. She cheered their success and took pride in their talents. She gave generously of her time to talk with loved ones, friends, or anyone in need, laughing with them and encouraging them. An invincible force, she cared skillfully and compassionately for Lonnie throughout his illness. Jean is remembered by her family and friends as fun, funny, sharp-witted, determined, caring and thoughtful. She lived fully, with presence and grace, throughout her life. She is greatly missed, and her love, support and inspiration live on in our hearts and memories. She will be remembered privately by her family. In lieu of flowers, donations honoring her memory are welcomed at the Humane Society of Missouri (https://hsmo.org/) or St Jude Children’s Research Hospital (https://www.stjude.org).

V. Jean Haefner

July 7, 1940 - April 20, 2025