Portville Hall of Fame
Jean Putnam was born in December 1952, the third child of Elsin and Winifred
Putnam in Olean, N.Y. She attended elementary school in Richburg, and then
Middle & High School in Portville. In Portville, she learned skiing,
cheerleading, camping, nature and outdoor pursuits. Jean graduated from PCS
in the Class of 1970.
After graduating from Portville, she majored in Nursing at Alfred State College
for two years and then transferred to Monroe Community College in Atlanta,
Georgia. She wanted to be with her high school sweetheart and soon-to-be
husband John Feeley (who was returning home from serving his country in
Vietnam). The two were married in Georgia on December 26, 1975.
In 1976, John and Jean returned home to start their careers and family. Jean
worked as a candy-striper at Olean General Hospital and as a nurse at the Cuba
Hospital. They welcomed their son, John, in 1976, and their daughter, Joy, in
1980. Jean was a stay-at-home mom until 1985, about the time that Portville
was looking for an elementary nurse. She was the perfect candidate and spent
the rest of her life in service to Portville Central School.
Jean didn’t just serve as a school nurse, she established a standard for care-
giving and laughter that will likely never be matched. From 1985 until her
untimely death in 2009….for us, the lives Jean touched, the care she gave, the
smiles she put on the faces of all who knew her will last forever.
If we were in Richburg, they would claim Jean as their own. If we were in
Bolivar, they too would say she is theirs. But, we are the Portville Alumni and
Hall of Fame and we are the first to recognize her and claim her as ours!
(As presented by Gary Swetland for Hall of Fame at the Alumni Banquet,
2015)
Putnam in Olean, N.Y. She attended elementary school in Richburg, and then
Middle & High School in Portville. In Portville, she learned skiing,
cheerleading, camping, nature and outdoor pursuits. Jean graduated from PCS
in the Class of 1970.
After graduating from Portville, she majored in Nursing at Alfred State College
for two years and then transferred to Monroe Community College in Atlanta,
Georgia. She wanted to be with her high school sweetheart and soon-to-be
husband John Feeley (who was returning home from serving his country in
Vietnam). The two were married in Georgia on December 26, 1975.
In 1976, John and Jean returned home to start their careers and family. Jean
worked as a candy-striper at Olean General Hospital and as a nurse at the Cuba
Hospital. They welcomed their son, John, in 1976, and their daughter, Joy, in
1980. Jean was a stay-at-home mom until 1985, about the time that Portville
was looking for an elementary nurse. She was the perfect candidate and spent
the rest of her life in service to Portville Central School.
Jean didn’t just serve as a school nurse, she established a standard for care-
giving and laughter that will likely never be matched. From 1985 until her
untimely death in 2009….for us, the lives Jean touched, the care she gave, the
smiles she put on the faces of all who knew her will last forever.
If we were in Richburg, they would claim Jean as their own. If we were in
Bolivar, they too would say she is theirs. But, we are the Portville Alumni and
Hall of Fame and we are the first to recognize her and claim her as ours!
(As presented by Gary Swetland for Hall of Fame at the Alumni Banquet,
2015)
| The Portville Historical and Preservation Society |
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| 17 Maple Avenue Portville, NY 14770 www.portvillehistory.org |
Portville, New York
| Jean Putnam Feeley (Posthumous) PCS Hall of Fame ~ Class of 2015 |
