Frances Jean Freeman Carver, widow of James L. Carver, passed away Monday, Sept. 21. She was 97.
She was born on Magnolia Street in Raeford, the youngest of four sisters, to Walter E. Freeman and Agnes Gatlin Freeman. The family moved to Fayetteville when she was very young, then to Aberdeen where she attended high school. Following graduation, she enrolled in Meredith College, serving as a Baptist missionary student in the North Carolina mountains the summers following her sophomore and junior years. She graduated with a degree in English and taught for a year in the Hoke County school system at what is now the J.W. Turlington School.
The following year she moved to Durham to work for American Tobacco Company, where she met and married her husband, Jim, in 1945. Prior to and following the war, Jim worked for Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company. Shortly after their marriage, he was assigned to Greece to buy oriental tobacco for Liggett, taking Jean with him as they embarked on an adventure into that war-torn country. After about a year there, Jim was transferred to the Black Sea coast of Turkey; the challenges of living in continued primitive conditions in a different strange culture were met and overcome by the strong bond of love and friendship between Jean and her husband.
In 1950 Jim was transferred to Izmir, Turkey's third largest city, and more cosmopolitan than his first two assignments. The US military had a base in Izmir and Jean's two children were permitted to attend the military's dependent school. Jim died in an automobile accident in 1966 and was buried in a Christian cemetery in Izmir; Jean returned to North Carolina with Jimmy and Jeanine. Jean wrote about her experiences overseas in The Long Honeymoon, a book treasured by her family and friends.
In 1991 she relocated from Chapel Hill to Southern Pines. She enjoyed golfing, bridge and other social activities with friends and two sisters, and was active in Brownson Presbyterian Church and a writing group. Her graciousness, warmth, and sense of humor made her "Mama Jean" not only to her grandchildren but also to her children's and grandchildren's friends.
She is survived by her son, James L. Carver, Jr.; her daughter, Jeanine Carver Wheless; three grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; several nieces, nephews and cousins; and many friends.
Her funeral and celebration of life will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, with visitation at 2 p.m. in the Gatlin Fellowship Hall at First Baptist Church in Raeford. She will be interred in the Raeford cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society or First Health Hospice.