Jean R Black

Jean R Black reached out her hand to touch the face of God on July 24th, 2026, in Albuquerque, NM. She was surrounded by her daughter Ginni and son-in-law Joe, along with their children, Geer and Nicandra. Her departure was memorialized by a giant thunderstorm rattling the windows, which was only appropriate for someone who lived to be 101 and who lived out loud. She leaves in her footsteps Tanya Jean, Janice, Ginni Lea, and Cheri Marie, her daughters, and multiple grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.

Jean was born in Sayre, OK, on April 11th, 1925. She had two much older siblings, Marvin and Bernice. She graduated from high school in Sayre. That was only her beginning. She met and married Charles E Steveson in Amarillo, TX, at the age of 18. She had two children by that marriage, Tanya Jean and Janice. Sadly, Charles passed in 1956 in Homestead, FL, where he served as a dentist in the Air Force. They had dear friends in El Paso, TX, Dick and Pauline Jessup. Dick and Charles made a promise to one another to always take care of each other's wives and children should anything ever happen, and so they joined the Jessups there in June of 1957. In 1958, she was introduced to Conrad Black, who was serving in the Air Force at Biggs Air Force Base (now known as Biggs Army Airfield at Fort Bliss). They married in January of 1959. Soon after, Conrad was stationed in Savannah, GA, where Virginia (Ginni) Lea, the first child of their union, was born in 1960. As it goes with military life, 3 years later they moved to Lincoln, NE, where their second child, Cheri Marie, was born. From there they moved to Tucson, AZ, where Jean was a "single mom" for a year while Conrad served in the Vietnam War. Upon his return, they were transferred to Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, NE. In 1970, Jean "retired" as a military wife, and they made the decision to move back to El Paso, TX. There she lived with Conrad for 32 years. In Texas, she had a wonderful career in retail, initially working as a buyer for The White House department store before taking an area management position with Dillard's, where she worked until she retired. While at The White House, she was photographed in the latest pant suit style of the day for a large one-page ad in the El Paso Times newspaper. She loved fashion and beautiful things for the house-she always joked she had "champagne taste with beer money". She made her mark on the community in El Paso by being a part of her church there, serving on the vestry as well as volunteering in the church's thrift shop. After she retired, she was always willing to lend a helping hand and was generous with her time. She joined a tap dance troupe and visited the local nursing homes and assisted living places to put on shows to the good ol' tunes, complete with costumes to bring a bit of brightness to the residents' day. They were referred to as "the El Paso Rockettes" and were featured in the newspaper in 1995. She was very vocal in the neighborhood they lived in, being instrumental in getting speed bumps put in to slow the traffic down. Conrad would always say she should've gone into politics. She loved her rose bushes and had the prettiest yard on the block. On any given day, you would see her out front watering and tending to the roses.

She loved animals and especially her cats. She had a collection of ceramic and wooden chickens and roosters before it was a "thing".

She highly valued having an education and encouraged everyone to pursue degrees of higher education.

She had a great love for the arts and music and made sure each of her daughters took piano lessons. All of them were accomplished at playing, some even into college. Her musical taste was wide and varied, from Frank Sinatra to Tom Jones, to George Benson and even Steely Dan-she attended both those concerts! During family vacations (yes, they took Ginni and Cheri along, even as adults!), the George Benson 8-track would play over and over. To this day, Ginni cannot hear the song "Breezin'" without thinking of her. She loved a good musical, and if you ask her grandchildren Geer and Nicandra what their favorite movie is, the answer would be something akin to "The Sound of Music" or "Oklahoma", thanks to Jean introducing us as children to all the musicals. She loved to go to art festivals and would readily say "yes" to an invitation to go to any that came to town. She was always so appreciative of the artists' work and had a small collection of original artwork.

She and Conrad enjoyed traveling to Air Force reunions once a year and had many friends and acquaintances throughout the country. Their dearest friends were those they made while living in El Paso.

Upon the insistence of her youngest daughters, Jean and Conrad moved to Albuquerque, NM, in 2002 to be closer to family. Although she left kicking and screaming as it was difficult to leave the life they created in El Paso, in hindsight she said it was the best decision, as there were many family dinners, grandkids spending the night, excursions to the mountains, holidays, and over two more decades with Ginni and Cheri living there. Janice also moved to Albuquerque for about 5 years, giving her even more family to be around. Her grandchildren Geer and Nicandra have many great memories and feel blessed to have had the grandparent experience for as long as they did.

Jean was widowed once again in January of 2014 when Conrad passed at age 97. They had their 55th wedding anniversary that month. We did not think she would hang around long after he left, but she did for another 12 years. She was fierce, a fighter, and oh so resilient. Our mother will continue to live on as we speak her into existence in our stories and our memories, when we hear a song, or see a colorful chicken or a magnificent creation of art. We all pray she is feeling safe in the arms of her maker, enjoying her freedom, and reunited with those who went before her. She will be missed. We love you forever, we'll like you for always, as long as we're living, our mother you'll be. May you be in your eternal morning, where the rooster crows and the mercy is new, and the sun is always shining with the promise of a new day.

Her final resting place will be with her husband Conrad at the National Cemetery in El Paso, TX. In lieu of flowers, if so moved, please make a donation to the Animal Humane of New Mexico. https://animalhumanenm.org/donate/