Jewell Louann Kirchner Gregory, LPC, bereavement counselor, social justice advocate and expert on French history, passed away peacefully at home on April 26, 2024.  Her dear and faithful children at her side, and love exchanged with each of her five grandchildren, their spouses, and four great grandchildren, she entered into God’s kingdom having lived a full and rich life. Jewell was elegant, gracious, and above all, loving. Those she met were immediately enveloped in kindness and compassion. She possessed an Ivy League intellect conveyed through her Southwest Missouri sweetness. Jewell made dear friends in all her endeavors — at work, at school, in line at coffee shops, at faith communities, through her grand-dog, and at hair salons. Her life experiences fueled her unique ability to appreciate and reflect kindness to each person she encountered. 

Born at home in Carthage, Mo. on January 14, 1934 to Ruth Mildred (Jones) and Carl Otto Kirchner, Jewell and her two older brothers, David Paul and James Martin, relished a bygone era, attending a one-room schoolhouse, parading around the courthouse square, sipping lemonade at the homes of elderly neighbors, taking piano and elocution lessons, and exploring the world through the Carnegie library. Those experiences brought to life a keen interest in far away places, a devotion to history and a profound ability to connect with people. Her father, a licensed engineer who held multiple patents, instilled a passion for geology, and her mother, a truly kind and giving woman, along with her father, endowed their children with a ceaseless love for education. 

Jewell attended Carthage High School and St. Peter’s boarding school. While attending a college visit at Park College, Kansas City, Mo., she met Edward Haig Gregory, a freshman. At age 17 she enrolled and Jewell and Edward fell in love. They  married two years later on May 31,1953. They transferred to the University of Pennsylvania where Jewell graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Medieval European and Byzantine History. Their two daughters Susan Faith (Barrera)  and Jane Hope (Babowice) were born at the university hospital. Edward continued at Penn to earn a master’s degree in Public Administration and Finance. He then embarked on a career in public government consulting that opened doors to international travel. 

In 1964, the family boarded the S.S. United States transatlantic ocean liner for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which at that time was speckled by Bedouin encampments and a camel souk. Eager to envelop herself in her surroundings, Jewell studied Arabic. Jewell, gregarious and ever interested to learn about people and places, befriended many people, including Om Alia, a wife of King Saud, and hosted the princess years later at her home in New Jersey. While living in Saudi Arabia, the family traveled to the pyramids of Geza in Egypt, Syria, Petra in Jordan and cosmopolitan Beirut. The return to the U.S. included tours of Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, England and Ireland, culminating at Le Havre, France, where they embarked as first class passengers on the S.S. France. The finale of the five-day Atlantic crossing was a raucous celebration in the Port of New York with full view of the Statue of Liberty, the cacophony of harbor ships’ sonorous horns welcoming their repatriation.

The next chapter of Jewell’s life involved settling her family in Park Ridge, Ill. It was the mid-1960s, and Jewell, stylish and well spoken, drew neighbors and community members into social circles. She entertained ladies’ groups as an enterprising lecturer. Jewell joined the National Conference of Christians and Jews, taking her daughters on tours of the numerous faith communities across Chicago. She enjoyed visiting Chicago’s cultural institutions and took classes at the Chicago Art Institute.  She enrolled at the University of Illinois’ newly opened Circle Campus and earned a master’s degree in Early Modern European History centering on France. Jewell delved further into the culture by continuing the French language studies which she began in high school, an avocation she continued throughout her life.

By 1973 her husband accepted a job as chief of administration and finance of the United Nations Population Fund in New York City and they moved to Short Hills, New Jersey. Jewell worked at the Manhattan-based headquarters of the Equitable Life Assurance Society, Corporate Relocation Service, where she rose to the title of Manager, Home-Finding Service. Ed’s career once again ferried the couple abroad, this time to the UN headquarters in Vienna, Austria where they lived from 1984 to1986. Along with history books and guidebooks, Jewell studied German to prepare for this new adventure.

An artist and art historian, Jewell created dozens of stunning acrylic paintings throughout her life, realistic and abstract, and even submitted work for consideration by the Chicago Art Institute. Her paintings grace her children’s and grandchildren’s homes. Jewell’s childhood dream of faraway places came to fruition as she explored masterpieces, architectural gems, and awe-inspiring natural features across the globe. Over the course of her life, Jewell traveled to 70 countries on five continents. Trips were taken with her children, grandchildren, and friends. Highlights included the Great Wall of China, St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum, vestiges of ancient Rome and Greece found across Europe and the Middle East, Peru’s Machu Picchu and the deafening roar of Iguazu Falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil. She witnessed audiences with three different Popes, shaking hands with Saint John Paul II. In the 1990s, Jewell enjoyed homestays in South Korea and Japan as a member of Friendship Force, an organization that promotes cultural diplomacy. She hosted guests from around the world.

In 1989, Edward and Jewell moved to Barrington, Ill. to be near their daughters. Sadly, Edward passed away one year later at age 57 from cancer. Jewell was an incredible and inspiring caretaker for her loving husband throughout his illness. Widowed at 55, Jewell wrote new life chapters, taking a job in car sales and then as an administrative executive assistant with VW Credit. She found new love with Sol “Sy” Spears, and they journeyed together to Europe, the Caribbean and Alaska. During their relationship and long after Sy’s passing, Jewell and Sy’s daughter, Susie Field, her husband Scott, and their children formed a close family relationship.

She moved to Glenview, Ill., in 1994 where she remained for the next 30 years. Her home was decorated with artworks and gifts from her cherished grandchildren and great grandchildren, and countless family photographs that illustrated her deep and abiding love and legacy. Jewell’s  warmth and compassion drew all of her immediate family, from Chicago, Miami, Connecticut, Washington, California and Washington D.C., and her many, many friends, to enjoy her company at her home until her final moments.

Her passion for worldwide justice was expanded at age 75 when Jewell enrolled at Loyola University in pursuit of a master’s degree in social justice. Jewell widened her understanding of the desperate need to be our brother’s keepers and to resolve intractable issues such as immigration. She participated in numerous protests and prayer vigils against deportation. Jewell became an executive board member for Operation Asha which raised funds to provide TB medications to India’s poorest citizens. Upon graduation, Jewell returned to Loyola to earn yet another master’s degree, this time in pastoral care. At age 82 she passed the Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) exam which enabled her to administer emotional wellness support through grief counseling. Jewell headed the bereavement ministry at St.Norbert and Our Lady of the Brook, founded a grief therapy group called Terra Nova, and worked one-on-one with individuals who experienced the trauma of loss. 

Other memberships included the North Shore chapter of the DAR which she joined with her daughters and granddaughters. This prompted Jewell to devote time with her daughter Susan researching both her forbears from England, Germany, and France and her husband’s ancestors who fled the Armenian genocide in the late 1800s with nothing in their pockets. She enrolled in bridge and French classes held at the North Shore Senior Center in Northfield and joined the organization’s social and current events club as secretary. 

Jewell’s final chapter uncovered new strength. In July 2022, Jewell expressed an unrelenting will to fight her leukemia diagnosis. The oncology team at the Kellogg Cancer Center of Glenbrook Hospital expertly and compassionately cared for her and created a community of support from the receptionists to the practitioners. Along this journey Jewell showed tremendous grace and gratitude in the face of her increasingly challenging health situation. Concurrently, she and her daughter Hope explored the mysteries of healing through both Ron Roth’s Celebrating Life ministries and the Jewish healing practices of the Kabbalah, gaining spiritual insights and meaningful friendships at Congregation Bene Shalom in Skokie. The silver lining that arose as a result of Jewell’s cancer-caused physical limitations were bonds formed with Maria Alvarez, Merle Maxwell and Physical Therapist Lorelei Vitente. Jewell’s final days were spent sharing stories with a steady, sometimes roaring, stream of visitors – young children, teens, young adults, peers and even a few dogs – and as many voice and video calls, allowing her to receive and express sincere love.

Jewell is survived by her treasured daughters and their husbands Susan and Ermilo Barrera, Hope and James Babowice; grandchildren Milo (Elizabeth) Barrera, Cathy Barrera (Guido Molinari), James (Meghan) Babowice, Michael (Kjersti) Babowice, Zoё Babowice (Shannon Hubbard); great-grandchildren Charlie and Alexander Barrera and Piero and Mila Molinari; honorary children and grandchildren Susie (Scott) Field, Steven Field (Jaime Moreno-Valle), Sammi (Teddy) Roth, Gillian and Savannah Roth and Eryn Minkow; her brother David Paul Kirchner of Germantown, Md., and sister-in-law Grace Hoglund of Kansas City, Mo.; and many nieces, nephews and cherished cousins. In addition is Janet Babowice, who thought of Jewell as a sister, and the extended Babowice family.

Jewell’s beloved husband Edward, her parents Ruth and Carl, and her brother James predeceased her. 

A family-hosted visitation will be held on Monday, May 20, from 3:00pm-8:00pm at the Princeton Club Clubhouse, 3080 Lexington Lane, Glenview. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, May 21 at St. Norbert,1809 Walters Ave., Northbrook, 60062. Visitation at 9:00am; mass to follow at 10:00am. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Jewell Gregory can be made to the Pathway Programs at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center; checks may be made payable to the “University of Chicago Medicine” and sent to the following address: University of Chicago Gift Administration and Business Data, Jewell Gregory Memorial, 5235 S. Harper Court, 4th Floor, Chicago, IL 60615 or online giving is available at: giving.uchicago.edu/Jewell-Gregory