Norma Jean Washington

Norma Jean Washington was born on October 24, 1941, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of the late Sara M. Brown and Booker B. Brown. She passed away peacefully at home, in the arms of loving family on Friday, November 27, 2009.She attended Yeadon High School where she was a majorette, basketball and field hockey player. She joined Mt. Zion Baptist Church in 1949. Jean attended Cheyney State University, where she met and married Perry Washington. After graduating from college, she taught high school algebra while raising their daughter, Stacy. In 1971 the family relocated to New York, where Jean decided to change career paths, enrolling in Columbia University Business School; earning her MBA in 1974. She began her business career in brand management with General Foods. Over a 25 year career she held several senior marketing positions until she retired in 1999, as Director of Marketing Service for Kraft Foods, Inc. After her retirement she relocated to Bluffton, South Carolina with her husband. Never one to remain ile, Jean soon joined the Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Club of Bluffton; in 2003 she became the Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of the Lowcountry. Jean dabbled in sports; she played a little tennis and golf and was an avid skier. However, her favorite sport by far was shopping and that she could do with a vengeance. This allowed her to indulge in her love of art and she acquired quite a collection of unusual pieces including china, Native American artifacts and African masks. Often, after a spectacular shopping trip (of which there were many) she could be heard uttering one of her favorite phrases: