Resident Spotlight
Legacy Village of Jacksonville resident Ms. Jean Allison Garner was born on September 19, 1932, in the small town of Brompton, Alabama, to Herbert and Louise Allison. She grew up surrounded by the simple joys of country life — the warmth of family, the closeness of neighbors, and the rhythm of small-town days that shaped her gentle, hardworking spirit.
As a young girl, Jean attended Oxford High School after her family moved to nearby Oxford. It was there that she met the love of her life, Earl Garner. The two were inseparable — sweethearts with dreams bigger than their age. On a chilly February day in 1949, when Jean was just a junior in high school, she and Earl drove to Georgia and promised each other forever.
The newlyweds built their first home in Anniston, Alabama, where they shared a life full of love, laughter, and hard work. Earl worked faithfully at the Anniston Foundry for twenty-six years, while Jean put her heart into every job she took. She spent ten years at the General Electric Plant in Oxford until it closed, and then found her calling at Anniston High School, where she worked in the lunchroom for thirty years.
Jean and Earl’s love story grew into a beautiful family. They were blessed with a son, Glen, and a daughter, Sue — and in time, their family tree blossomed with four grandchildren: Dana, Brett, Cory, and Donya. That love continued to multiply with eight great-grandchildren and one precious great-great-grandchild.
Faith was a steady light in Ms. Jean’s life. She was a devoted member of Saks First Baptist Church, where she found great joy in taking senior adult trips with her church family — always ready for fellowship, laughter, and adventure. At home, her hands were rarely still; she loved quilting, carefully stitching together pieces of fabric the way she stitched together memories, love, and family.
In 1962, with her trademark determination, Jean returned to school at Gadsden State Community College to earn her GED — a quiet testament to her perseverance and belief that it’s never too late to learn or grow.
