Jean Harrison Siegler

Jean Harrison Siegler was born in Paris, France to Americans Betty and George Burch. French hospital officials were very concerned that this baby girl was to be named the French equivalent of “John,” but thus began an unconventional and wonderful life.

Jean was raised in Massachusetts, where her innate curiosity and love of nature led to a lifelong pursuit of biological research and volunteer activities. She attended her first year of college in India. Back in the US, she crossed the country to study at Stanford before returning to Massachusetts to marry her first husband and have her daughter Ellie. As a young mother, she earned a Ph.D. in Biology at Radcliffe College, studying echolocation in bats with Donald Griffin.

She then taught biology at Wellesley College and Radcliffe/Harvard University, where she was a role model for women in science. She famously threatened to notify the Boston Globe when male faculty didn’t want to award scholarships to women who “were pretty and likely to just get married”.

After divorcing her husband, she moved next door to the Siegler family, forming a blended family with Richard, Mimi, Adam and Cumba, and having daughters Lisa and Katie. They moved to California where she taught biology at UCLA and was part of a research laboratory studying Alzheimer’s disease. Always up for adventure, she took her mother and two young girls to Samoa where she was a founding professor at their first university. She later taught in the Biology Department at Mount St. Mary’s University.

Upon retirement, Jean and Richard moved to Santa Cruz, where Richard built a beautiful home for them by the beach. She volunteered as a docent at Natural Bridges State Park and UCSC’s Seymour Center at Long Marine Lab. She continued traveling the world, birdwatching, hiking, and playing recorder and penny whistle.

Jean and Richard spent summers at their home in Vermont where she volunteered with the Vermont Institute of Natural Science and the Montshire Museum. She enjoyed canoeing, hunting for wild mushrooms, and playing recorder.

As a Quaker, she was an active member of the Santa Cruz Friends Meeting, generous with both her time and her resources. She was on a number of committees, including the Friends in Unity with Nature Committee, the Children’s Committee, the Peace and Social Justice Committee and the Worship and Ministry Committee. Jean taught in the First Day Program and loved bringing her grandsons Sebastian, Oliver and Toby to Meeting. Jean’s keen intellect and sense of humor enriched our Meeting. She will be missed.

Richard passed away in 2019. After a stroke in 2020, Jean moved to Pacific Grove to be near her daughter Katie and family. She enjoyed frequent walks with Katie, Brian and granddaughter Ruby, visiting the local monarch butterfly sanctuary and the beach. She loved her monthly Zoom meet-ups with her brothers and families, and listening to classical music.

She passed away peacefully on February 5, 2024, with Katie by her side. She is survived by her children, stepchildren and grandchildren, Adam Siegler, Cumba Siegler, Katie Siegler (daughter Ruby Jean Siegler), Lisa Siegler (sons Oliver and Toby Siegler, stepson Sebastian Richardson), Ellie Harrison, and brothers John Burch and Peter Burch.

One of her favorite pieces of music was Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony (Symphony No. 6). In this piece, you can hear birds singing, streams flowing, a thunderstorm, and the celebration of our time in nature.