Jean was, with her husband, co-founder of The Tidal Press, a small fine book publishing company that features fine poetry and prose beautifully illustrated with original artwork. A lover of the natural world, all of Jean's books, including "Of Mice and Mice," "Too Close Apart," "Half A Cage," "Tuk the Timid," "Bound by the Sea" and "The Gossamer Green," were written in celebration of and with the aim of preserving our natural environment.

Her last published work was "The Gossamer Green," a modern day fable that explores the consequences of unchecked population growth upon our physical and psychological environment. Her numerous paintings and illustrations are a colorful, insightful and sometimes humorous look at her family, her animals and her world.

She was born Oct. 22, 1921, in Boston, Mass., the daughter of John K. and Ruth (Gaston) Howard, and was a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College.