She was born on March 8, 1952, in Newark, N.J. and attended St. Mary’s Parochial School in Middletown, N.J. She awoke to her elementary education the day they began diagramming sentences. A love of grammar and a fiery independence drew her on to acquire fluency in French, Italian, Spanish and Greek in her 20’s through her own program of academic study, travel and work sojourns abroad. Degrees earned were an Associate in Arts from Brookdale Community College in 1979, a B.A., magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from New York University in 1982, and a Masters in education from Rutgers State University of NJ in 1987.

 She spent two years studying romance languages at the Sorbonne in Paris. 

Experimenting with techniques of language teaching she settled on methods which did not exclude structure and grammar but also made use of humor and a personal touch which greatly endeared her to her students. These language classes evolved into class trips to Latin American destinations whereby she became a popular tour planner and leader.

  Born into a family business of fishing boats, tackle, and sporting goods, Jeanne became a knowledgeable advocate for marine ecosystems. In the 70’s she worked out of central New Jersey for Clean Ocean Action, which single-handedly stopped ocean dumping by New York City. Her friendship with John Young of the Tom Brown School of Tracking introduced her to the world of birds, which was to remain ever her greatest love. Birding and Spanish took her to the tropics.

  Jeanne folded environmental interests into her language teaching with finesse. She spent seven years teaching English to students at EARTH University in Costa Rica, where she inspired a vivid interest in the students by incorporating issues of globalization of Latin America into the language curriculum. She did not stop with the students. Seeing the need for better communication with English speaking tourists, she created a special class for the guides, formerly hunters/poachers, hired by the Rainforest Aerial Tram in Braulio Carillo. 

  Her travels included 2 years’ teaching in Japan and birding tours to Africa and South America, with frequent trips to Ecuador, Cuba, Brazil, Venezuela, Panama and Nicaragua. She led tours for Community College of Vermont, Vermont Institute of Natural Science, the North Branch Nature Center and UVM.

  In the last 7 years Jeanne specialized in issues surrounding the coffee crisis, incorporating her love of birds with undying concern about the eradication of tropical forests by rapacious corporate interests promoted and funded by the World Bank & International Monetary Fund.

  Unfinished projects included a language primer oraganized on grammatical principles with chapters featuring environmental heroes, “Green English”, and her own little travel company, “Jeanne’s Java Jaunts”.

  She is survived by her sisters, Rosemarie Greene of Atlantic Highlands, N.J., and Barbara Weid of Statesboro, Ga.; nephews, nieces, cousins, and a legacy of devoted friends and students.

  Charitable contributions in her name may be directed to North Branch Nature Center, Sustainable Harvest Int’l and VINS.