FRANKLINTON, NC—Regina “Jean” Conkle Jefferson, 72, died unexpectedly July 17, 2021, in Franklinton, N.C.
She was born February 8, 1949, in Philadelphia, Pa. She spent her childhood in Philadelphia and her teenage years in Kilmarnock, where she met her best friend and high school sweetheart, William “Bill” Thurman Jefferson Jr. They were married in 1968 and raised five children in Richmond and Rocky Mount, N.C.
After their children left home, Jean and Bill dedicated over five years to serving as house-parents for children in need. They celebrated 42 years of marriage before his death in 2010.
Jean loved road trips, beach week with the family at Oak Island, NCAA basketball (Go Blue Devils and Tar Heels), politics, her Irish heritage, reading, Jeopardy! and—most of all—her family.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Bill; her mother, Rita Ryan Conkle; and her sister, Anne Conkle.
She is survived by her daughters, including Carey Jean Jefferson and her husband, Stephen Brooks, of Chapel Hill, N.C.; Cynthia Jefferson Glad and her husband, Jason, of Lakeville, Minn.; Kimberly Sue Lehrfeld and her husband, Jeffrey, of Fulton, Md.; Catherine Jefferson Littleton and her husband, Michael, of Franklinton, N.C.; her son, Steven Ryan Jefferson and his wife, Kayla Biese, of Raleigh, N.C.; her grandchildren, Madeline, Daniel, Tyler, Owen, Macey, Cassidy, Josh, Billy and Ryan; her six siblings; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
Family received friends from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, July 21, at Currie Funeral Home, 116 East Church Street, Kilmarnock. A memorial mass will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 22, at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, 154 East Church Street, Kilmarnock. Interment will follow at White Stone Baptist Church Cemetery with a reception immediately following at 517 Chesapeake Drive, White Stone.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute (www.sansum.org) or to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina (www.foodbankcenc.org).
