Jeane (Rabe) Dormeyer

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”  A.A. Milne. Jeane Dormeyer, passed away peacefully at her home on February 3, 2022, three weeks after celebrating her 100th birthday. She was surrounded by family.

Born in Chicago to Herman & Dorothy Rabe, Jeane’s family moved to Springfield, Illinois where Jeane spent most of her childhood.  She became a skilled sailor, and developed a love for the boats & the water.  She graduated from the West Suburban School of Nursing in Oak Park, Illinois in 1943.  She met Henry Allen Dormeyer and they were married in 1944, then raised their three daughters in Des Plaines, Illinois. She and her life partner, Bob Kuchenbecker, built a home in Mercer, Wisconsin and resided there from her retirement until Bob’s death in 2010. 

Her remarkable and varied talents made Jeane an example to many.  She was an excellent cook, an adept seamstress, making many of the clothes her daughters wore, decent bowler, and admired and respected for her nursing skills. She was a life-long reader and became an expert at doing crossword puzzles. She would have appreciated the title of “#1 Frank Sinatra Fan” as she adored him! AND, as bad as things got, she never gave up on her Bears! She was a fan of Jeopardy & Wheel of Fortune (Spin the Bottle as she called it), but really loved the NCIS & Chicago PD blood and guts! Her nursing career took her from hospital nursing, to nursing home administration, to the management of a steel mill dispensary before her retirement.  She often volunteered her time to nurse family members and friends who were in need.

Jeane was preceded in death by her parents, her partner of 40 years, Bob Kuchenbecker, her brother, Richard, her eldest daughter, Mary Callaghan, Mary’s daughter, Meghan Callaghan and her niece, Margery Niemeyer. She is survived by daughters Diane (Reza Ebadi) and Barbara, grandchildren Leah Callaghan, Joshua (Davida) Callaghan, Dylan (Melissa) Callaghan, Sarah Moore, Ryan Russ, Molly (Jeff) Benning and Benjamin Probst and great-grandchildren Brendan, Alexander, Anderson, Maxwell, Ryder, Eleanor, Holden, Ora & Imogene.  Nieces & nephews who survive are Pat & Linda and Richard, Jean & Ellen. Per her wishes, there are no services pending. Jeane donated to a number of charities, diverse in their missions.  If you wish to acknowledge her in this way, please select a charity of your choice.

“May you live to be 100, and may the last voice you hear be mine.”  Frank Sinatra

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Jeane (Rabe) Dormeyer, please visit our floral store.