Jean Whitaker

Jean Miracle Whitaker passed away in Jackson, MS, on March 27, 2020. She was born in Medina, Ohio, on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 1962, causing her family to celebrate in a different way.  She attended school at York and Liverpool schools.  Three Mile Island changed the family’s life when her father’s job with McDermott International was transferred to New Orleans.  They moved to Slidell, LA, and Jean graduated from Slidell High School, where she played in the marching band.  She then went to college at the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette, LA., now known as the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.  She married Don Whitaker at Chretien Point Plantation in Sunset, LA, in 1987 and moved to his hometown of Houston in May 1988.

She completed her college degree at the University of Saint Thomas in 2000.  Jean’s career included working at KATC-TV3 in Lafayette, KIAH-39, KNWS-24, and KKHT-FM in Houston, Hermann Park Conservancy and Ski Europe in Houston, and Project Wisdom in Bellaire, TX.  They moved in 2017 to Brandon, MS, and she continued to work remotely for Project Wisdom as copywriter and proofreader, writing character education materials which have been used by schools all over the country.  She supported many children through several international charities and had friends all over the world. She was a member of her Castlewoods neighborhood association and attended Saint Mark’s United Methodist Church.

She was the daughter of June Miracle and her late husband, Phil Miracle, sister of Joan Miracle Smith of New Orleans and Douglas Miracle, sister-in-law to Tracy Ellery Miracle, and loving aunt to Cole and Lauren Miracle of Madison, MS.  She was the stepmother to Victoria Whitaker of Healdsburg, CA, and grandmother to Frances Preston.