Jeannette Breitler Denman, age 90, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loving daughter and son-in-law, on November 20, 2024, in Madison, Alabama.
Jeannette was born in Winchester, Tennessee, on July 23, 1934, the only child of Ernest and Johanna Breitler. She was a long-standing member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Winchester. She graduated from Franklin County High School in 1952 and attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
After returning to Winchester from Knoxville, it was at church where Jeannette met her loving husband of 65 years, Lee Denman. They married on May 31, 1958, and soon settled in Winchester to raise their family. In the early 1970s, Jeannette started her career in child care/development, when she helped open a home-based day care center. They out-grew the home environment, and Franklin County Day Care Center, Inc. was born, where she was the director for many years. In August 1986, she was appointed a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Day Care to address the growing need for quality child care in the state of Tennessee. She was a founding member of SCAEYC (South Central Association for the Education of Young Children) and an active member of the State, Regional, and National Associations until her retirement from child care on May 28th, 2010, at the young age of 75. Jeannette rarely missed an early childhood conference and mentored many others in the field.
Jeannette loved her family, and doted on her granddaughters. She enjoyed family camping trips, where she made many friends all over the nation. Jeannette enjoyed various crafts and hobbies such as sewing, jewelry making, and collecting Department 56 Dickens’ Village pieces and Snowbabies figurines. She also loved making new friends.
Jeannette is survived by her daughter Leah Leanette Denman Fisher; her granddaughter Rachel Jean Fisher; her son-in-law David Eugene Fisher; and many others whom she cared for and loved as family.
Jeannette is preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, Leland Cox Denman; her son Ernest Hoyle Denman; her granddaughter Hannah Lea Fisher; her parents, Ernest Breitler and Johanna Breitler; and her daughter-in-law Angie Denman.
Visitation will be held on Sunday, December 1st from 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm at Moore-Cortner Funeral Home in Winchester, TN, followed by the funeral service in the chapel with Reverend Doctor Michael Clark officiating. Interment will follow at Franklin Memorial Gardens.
A memory box and note cards will be available if anyone would like to share their favorite memory of Jeannette with her family.
If desired, Memorial Donations may be made to Cumberland Youth and Family Services, 909 Greenlee St, Denton, TX 76201, (940)-382-5112.
Moore-Cortner Funeral Home 300 1st Ave NW, Winchester, TN 37398, (931) 967-2222.
