Jeanette was born near Valley Falls where she lived with her family on a farm until she graduated from high school.  After graduation, Jeanette came to Topeka and shared an apartment with a girlfriend.  They worked at Southwestern Bell to earn money to buy "store-bought" clothes which she didn't usually have growing up since they made their clothes out of feed sacks.  On Friday nights the girls would ride the train back to Valley Falls to spend the weekends with their families, returning on Sunday evenings.

Jeanette and her husband, Melvin, went to school together but didn't date until after high school.  Jeanette loved to dance and Melvin was very good at the jitterbug, so a lot of their dates were spent dancing!  They dated for three years and have been married for fifty two years.  After the wedding they lived away from Topeka while Melvin was in the Air Force, later settling on a farm near Valley Falls where they raised their family of four children.  They now have ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.  Jeanette and Melvin have lived in a Topeka townhome for about two and a half years, and it's here where squirrels entertain them and provide wonderful stories to share with their extended family and friends!