Jean G. (Kitchen) Smith

Orra Jean Kitchen, daughter of Paul and Margery Kitchen passed away peacefully on July 17, 2021 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Jean, as she was known to her friends and family, was born in Philadelphia on March 28th 1928. She attended The Baldwin School for girls in Bryn Mawr, and then continued her education at the University of Pennsylvania. She graduated with a degree in English and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa society. At Penn, she was very active in the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and would end up meeting her future husband, George B. Grey III at a Beta Theta Pi fraternity event. They married on July 14, 1950 and were blessed with two sons and two daughters. Sadly George passed away in March, 1969 leaving Jean to raise her growing family on her own. To care for her family, Jean went to work for Univac, later known as Unisys, and was one of the first women to work in the early years of the computer software industry. She would have a long career with Unisys until her retirement at the age of 62. In 1974 she married John C. Smith Jr. (JC) and together they enjoyed traveling both in the United States by visiting Jean’s children in Texas and California, as well as many trips overseas including Ireland, Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic. Jean's summers were spent either in Philadelphia or in her family’s summer home, Eastwood Hoe, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Lovely summer days were spent with family doing puzzles, picking blueberries, gardening, canoe trips, and watching plays at Barnstormers in Tamworth. With retirement came the freedom to live in Naples Florida to escape the winters, where she was actively involved in the Naples Panhellenic Alumnae Association. Jean's high intelligence and adventurous spirit kept her active well into her 90’s. She was truly an amazing woman and was blessed with a love of life, a love of learning and a love of family. She will be dearly missed by her brother Paul, and her four children, Susan Troisi Grayston, George B. Grey IV, Amy G. Lanza, Douglas W. Grey, and step-son John C. Smith III as well as her eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at DelVal Chapter Headquarters, 399 Market St. Suite 250, Philadelphia PA 19106  or the Cook Memorial Library, 93 Main St., Tamworth, NH 03886.