Phyllis Leary

Jean (Brown) Leary, 102 years old, of Cincinnati, OH, passed away May 27, 2025, supported by her loving family and Hospice of Cincinnati. She was preceded in death by her husband of 28 years, Raymond Leary, and her sisters, Frances McConaughe and Lenora Ayers. Jean is survived by her three children, Bruce (Carol), Suellen Tumser (Gary), and Brian (Julia), along with six married grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

Jean was born in Gary, IN, on October 11, 1922, the daughter of Ella Rose (Swigert) Brown and James Musgrove Brown. She graduated from DePauw University with a bachelor's degree in music and was an active member of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority both as an undergraduate and an alumnus. She played the cello and oboe in high school & college marching bands. Jean worked at the radio station while her high school sweetheart, Ray Leary, who she later married in 1945, a WW II pilot, attended Purdue University. Jean was an active member of Sweet Adelines for over 50 years, where her groups won numerous first, second, and third-place medals in international barbershop singing competitions.

She was a resident of The Seasons community for the past 12 years after returning from Sarasota, FL where she lived for 20 years. Jean was a member of the Evergreen Presbyterian Church and a past member of the Mt Washington Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati and the Palms Presbyterian Church in Sarasota, FL.

A memorial service will be held at The Seasons on August 2, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., followed by a private ceremony at Spring Grove Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Jean's memory may be directed to Hospice of Cincinnati or Oncology Hematology Care (OHC), Cincinnati.