Age 86, passed away Friday, January 16, 2026 at CRC Towsley Village. She was born September 10, 1939 in Rock Island, Illinois, the daughter of Harold and Jennie (Crosby) Bleuer.
Jeanne was a 1957 graduate of Rock Island High School. With exceptional support and sacrifice from her parents, she was able to attend college and earn a bachelor's degree at the University of Illinois (Champaign Urbana). With encouragement and support from her husband (Fred Bunning) and his parents (Walter and Velvie Bunning), Jeanne went on to earn a master’s degree of science at the University of Illinois.
In 1974, Jeanne and her second husband, John Martin, and their two children, Bradley David Martin (born in1969) and Lynn Michelle Martin (born in 1972) moved from Tama, Iowa to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where John was offered a position that advanced his career, and Jeanne was back in a university town that offered opportunities for her to continue her education.
In 1986, Jeanne earned her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan School of Education, in educational psychology and the evaluation of educational and counseling programs. She later became the Associate Director of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Counseling and Personnel Services at the University of Michigan thru the 80s into the 90s and in 1993 she became the Co-Director of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Counseling and Student Services at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.
In 2006 she won The ACA Fellows Award, a distinctive honor awarded by the American Counseling Association, recognizes ACA members who have advanced the counseling profession throughout their career.
Jeanne is survived by many friends and family who loved her greatly, including her daughter, Lynn; daughter in-law, Amy Small; sister in-law, Joy (John) Bleuer; granddaughters, Ashley (Jacob) Barnes, Marisa (Justin) Laitinen; grandson, Alex DiGiuseppe; great-granddaughters, Abigail & Aurora Barnes; and many nieces and nephews.
She was proceeded in death by her parents, Harold and Jennie Bleuer; her son, Bradley Martin; her brothers, John and James Bleuer; and her sisters, Patricia Carpenter and Wilma Hallenbeck and brother Harold L Bleuer who passed away at birth.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, January 24, at 11am at Towsley Village Chapel with Chaplain Elisabeth Seymour officiating. The family will receive friends from 10-11am. A service in Illinois will take place in the spring. Jeanne’s remains will be interred in Greenview Memorial Gardens, East Moline, Illinois. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution in her honor. Jeanne was particularly fond of cats and a regular contributor to the Humane Society and cat rescue organizations. She also believed in the ideals of a free and fair society and was a regular contributor to the ACLU. Arrangements were entrusted to Cole Funeral Chapel.