Jean Black

She was never quite as tall as the stories she created, but she was always the biggest presence in the room. Known in her Merchantville High days as "Half Pint"—the softball catcher who could command the field—Jean spent the next seven decades proving that height had nothing to do with strength.

Her adult life was shaped by a chance encounter at a Lenola gas station. It was there that John Black spotted her heading into a florist and decided, then and there, that he had found his match. They were married for 53 years, a partnership defined by being truly inseparable. They traveled the country in a motor home, from the campgrounds of Fort Wilderness to the West Coast, though Jean usually preferred the car to remain in total silence—unless she was in the passenger seat, critiquing the driving.

In Maple Shade, Jean was a fixture of "Club Theatre," part of a legendary neighborhood crew that treated their street like a stage. She was a woman of delightful contradictions: an "innocent, sweet angel" to her parents, and a tactical prankster to everyone else, once decorating a bachelor neighbor's trees ladies’ undergarments, just to see the look on his face when he got home.

Professionally, Jean was the backbone of TJ Frogs, the gift shop she owned with her daughter Tammy for a decade. She handled the books for John Black Construction and Esther Williams Pools, but her true office was the casino floor. Jean was a "one-armed bandit" specialist who once hit a \$50,000 jackpot and, in typical Jean fashion, immediately walked away from the machine because she "didn't feel good" and had already told the slot attendant she needed the bathroom. To Jean, the win was secondary to the exit.

Self admittedly her strength was never behind the stove yet she managed two "smash hits" that remain the gold standard for her family: mac and cheese, and franks and beans. She didn't need to cook, however, because she had mastered the art of the grandmotherly spoil. If her grandsons wanted Chick-fil-A, John was dispatched to get it. If they wanted a Xbox or a new bike, Jean ensured no one else was allowed to buy it, ensuring her boys never knew the word "no."

She spent her final years in a custom-built lift chair—the only one in the world that actually let her feet touch the floor—watching Hudson and Rex marathons.

Jean Black lived a life of spicy wit and quiet luxury; the smallest lady driving the biggest Lincoln Town Cars she could find and navigating the streets of her town. No doubt she was a Shader. She leaves behind a legacy of inseparable love, of knowing when to walk away from the machine, and a family who understands that the best math is knowing exactly where you need to be.

She is survived by her daughter, Tammy Carnivale (Marc); her grandsons, Tyler and Gavin Carnivale and her siblings, Ronnie (Jim) Myers and Harriet (Ken) Kurtz.

Family will celebrate Jean’s 81 great years privately.