Jeannine DeLancett 81 former Sentinel librarian witness to history
February 21st, 2008, 7:53 pm Hobby Shops
“She didn’t have a lot financially, but in her heart she always felt she needed to give what she had to help others.” The 81-year-old Orlando woman died Tuesday of cardiac arrest. In 1926, DeLancett was born in La Louvi%26#65533;re, Belgium, where she experienced history. During the Holocaust, DeLancett’s family hid Jews in their homes so they could escape death, and DeLancett’s father received medals for his part in the French Resistance, Wylam said. DeLancett first moved to Paris, then Watertown, N.Y., before she moved to Orlando in 1957. “She had not worked most of her adult life, but she went to work out of necessity,” Wylam said. She knew little English, but taught herself the language and landed a job as an editorial librarian with the Orlando Sentinel, Wylam said. “She was a very bright lady. That always amazed me, how she could do that and overcome the language barrier,” Wylam said. At the job Wylam would do research for reporters’ stories. “She had such a bright mind. She’d remember when the story was published and knew what they were looking for” without the assistance of a computer, Wylam said. “Until the day she died, her mind was as sharp as a tack,” Wylam said. In 1986, DeLancett won editorial employee of the year, but her most satisfying work would come from her hobby — knitting. For several years, DeLancett knitted small caps for newborns’ heads to retain their body heat. Even in her later years, when her health started to fail, she kept knitting and would send bundles of hats to Winter Park Memorial Hospital. “That love and kindness just radiated from her,” Wylam said. The same was true when she visited with family. “She always did her part. She always encouraged her children to pursue education and she celebrated everybody’s achievements,” Wylam said. And even with DeLancett gone, Wylam said, recipes and memories of her mother’s wonderful cooking will remain. “She was an excellent French cook. She made a lot of wonderful meals.” A recipe for galette, a French crepe, “was handed down from her mother and it’s been in our family for years.” Along with Wylam, DeLancett is survived by daughter Michele Brent and son John DeLancett, both of Orlando. Collison Family Funeral Home %26amp; Crematory is handling arrangements. Gabrielle Finley can be reached at gfinley@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5507.
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