Jean Ellen Cabell O’Connor, 95, passed away peacefully at Saint Dominic’s Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, on December 29, 2025, with her loving daughters Christine and Cynthia by her side. The daughter of Charles and Alice (née Owens) Cabell, Jean, along with her twin sister Jane, was born on April 24, 1930 in Palatine, Illinois, and grew up in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, D.C., where her father spent his career working in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Jean, along with her older sister Mildred and her twin sister Jane, spent her youth exploring the vibrant post-World War II nation’s capital, and in her later years, recounted to her children and grandchildren her many adventures navigating the city via the now defunct trolley car system. Throughout her youth, Jean also enjoyed escaping the hustle and bustle of city life to spend summers in the country on her maternal uncle’s farm in Culpepper, Virginia. By her own admission an average student, Jean graduated from Central (now Cardozo) High School in Washington, D.C. in 1948. Always a fervent lover of the arts, Jean spent her post-high school graduation years taking ballet classes and working in an art supply store where, in 1950, she met a dashing young naval enlisted man who would later become her husband. Jean Ellen Cabell married Capt. Cornelius (Neil) F. O’Connor (USNR) of Homer, Nebraska, on April 7, 1951 at Shrine of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., beginning a marriage that would span seventy-four and a half years and would see the birth of five children. As the wife of a soon-to-be naval officer, Jean lived all over the world, giving birth to her five children in five different countries over the span of thirteen years. Jean was the consummate naval officer’s wife, ensuring that her ever-expanding family was well loved and well cared for as they moved around the world supporting Neil in his career as a naval meteorologist and oceanographer. The family’s two postings in Yokosuka, Japan would leave a lasting impression on Jean, not only because her last child, Corey, was born on the Naval Base there, but also for the deep love of Japanese art, culture and language Jean carried with her throughout the remainder of her life. As the O’Connor family gained new members through marriages and births, Jean delighted in regaling them with detailed stories of raising her family in a Japanese fishing village in the mid-1970s, even recalling Japanese words and phrases she had learned during her time there. One story in particular that always elicited a laugh involved a woman named Hatsuko and a monkey, of all things! Jean had a prodigious memory and a deep intellect that, in a different era, would undoubtedly have seen her excel in an environment outside of her well-run domestic life. In fact, at the age of 91, Jean learned to master the art of texting on an iPhone! She regularly used her iPhone to complete the popular NYTimes online game Wordle, faithfully sharing her score with her daughter-in-law Victoria, whom she often bettered in completing the puzzle. The inherent intelligence and intellect that Jean possessed until the end of her life will remain a cherished part of family lore for generations to come. After Neil’s retirement from the U.S. Navy in 1989, Jean and Neil dedicated the next thirty years of their lives to seeing the world together. While Neil had traveled the globe for his career, Jean had remained at home raising their family. Therefore, upon his retirement, Neil’s mission became showing Jean all of the exotic and far-flung destinations he had visited on Navy ships. Iceland, China, Antartica, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia and a memorable 45 day cruise across the Pacific Ocean and around the islands of the South Pacific were just a few of the entry stamps that filled their passports. Undoubtedly, Neil more than succeeded in his mission to show Jean the world. A beautiful, capable, caring and loving wife, mother, grandmother and mother-in-law, Jean was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Alice, and her two sisters Mildred and Jane. She is survived by her beloved husband of seventy-four and a half years, Neil; children Catherine (Georgetown, TX), Christine (Montgomery, AL), Cynthia (Ridgeland, MS), Charles (Charlottesville, VA) and Cornelius (Winston-Salem and Little Switzerland, NC); sons-in-law Gary Essary (Chris) and Larry Field (Cindy); daughters-in-law Janet O’Connor (Chuck) and Victoria O’Connor (Corey); grandchildren Jason and Kristin Jutilla (Cathy), Tara, Tim, Tyler and Tristan Essary (Chris), Eric, Evelyn and Adam Field (Cindy), and Timothy O’Connor (Chuck); and four great grandchildren. A memorial service to honor and remember Jean’s amazing life will be held at a later date. The family wishes to extend its heartfelt gratitude to all of the staff at The Waterford on Highland Colony Senior Living Facility in Ridgeland, MS, and in particular, to her primary caregiver Earnestine Davis, the remarkable individual who made possible Jean’s desire to remain beside her lifelong partner Neil until the end of her life.