Born September 4, 1942, in Arkansas, Norma Jean (McFarlan) Preston passed away on December 6, 2021 in Colorado due to several major health issues.

At the age of 14, Jean moved to Illinois to live with her sister. Jean worked as a waitress in Wauconda, Illinois where she met Willard “Bill” Preston whom she married on December 17, 1960. They spent 61 wonderful years together.

During her 46 years in Illinois, Jean worked as head cashier for several grocery chains, manager of a gift store, and in the accounts receivable department for Eby Brown company.

Jean’s greatest love was fostering her relationships. She was a devoted wife, mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, and friend to many. Jean was warm, friendly, and had an exceptional sense of humor. She was known for her generous heart, always offering help to others, and actively volunteered with her daughters’ school, band, and Girl Scout programs. She enjoyed traveling and visited most of the United States and 5 other countries.

Her legacy is one of love and laughter. She made extra efforts to show people they were special to her and often made personalized gifts highlighting her creativity and humor. Jean always gave the warmest hugs! Jean’s family and friends will attest to her expert cooking skills; she especially enjoyed cooking big meals on holidays.

Jean cherished flower gardening and growing her own vegetables. She canned extensively while living in Ringwood, Illinois, keeping her family well stocked during the winter. One of her favorite hobbies was reading books. Every Christmas, Jean would receive multiple novels which she would then read at a rate of one per week. Jean also liked watching science fiction shows and football. She attended two Super Bowls, where at one she received an autographed football from Archie Manning, of which she was very proud.

She was an avid bird watcher and shared her love of nature with family and friends. She moved to Tennessee in 2006 to be near her grandchildren, whom she adored. While there, Jean enjoyed being known as the “Hummingbird Lady” and maintained multiple hummingbird feeders which were frequented by dozens of “guests” daily. Her photographs captured many hummingbirds and beautiful sunsets. In 2018 Jean moved to Colorado to be near family where she seldom missed an opportunity to take in viewing the mountains, flowers, and watching wildlife.

Jean is survived by her husband Bill, her two daughters Charlene (Preston) Rowe and Cheryl Preston, her granddaughter Erin Ekleberry, grandson Aiden Ekleberry, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Jean had ten siblings. She was preceded in death by her parents Andrew and Eva McFarlan.