Obituary of Jean Ricksecker

Jean Ricksecker, 96, matriarch of a large and loving family, passed away on 11/18/2016 in Philadelphia. Born in New York City in 1920, the year women secured the right to vote, and raised in Cleveland, Jean lived 64 years in Galion, Ohio. A strong feminist, she broke gender barriers throughout her life. She graduated from the College of Wooster in 1942 and worked as a reporter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer in the 1940s. In 1976, she became the first woman County Commissioner in the history of Crawford County and the third woman County Commissioner in Ohio. Jean was a founder of the Galion chapters of the League of Women Voters and of Planned Parenthood. She was instrumental in the restoration the Crawford County Courthouse dome and, with her husband Robert, provided significant support to the Galion Public Library. She worked passionately towards the rebuilding of the Galion Community Theatre. Jean was a lifelong Cleveland Indians baseball fan. She was preceded in death in 1945 by her first husband, U.S. Marine Pilot Charles Herbert Lawrence, and her second husband, Galion attorney Robert Ricksecker in 2004. She is survived by her daughter, Margaretta Ann Ricksecker, and sons Peter Lawrence, Cleve Ricksecker, and Yohannes Chonde as well as many grandchildren, great grandchildren, nephews, nieces, and extended family. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, 206 E. State Street, Columbus, OH 43215 or the Galion Community Theatre, 127 Harding Way West, Galion, Ohio 44833.