Jean Scammon Hyland

Jean Scammon Hyland passed away March 20, 2021 at Langdon Place of Exeter, NH after a brief illness. She was 95 years old.

Born in 1926 in Minneapolis, MN to Julia (Simms) Scammon and Richard E. Scammon, education was central to Jean's life from the very beginning. Her father was Dean of the University of Minnesota Medical School, and her mother was one of the first women to graduate from the University of Kansas.

Jean earned a BA in French from MacMurray College for Women, followed by an MA in French and Spanish from Western Reserve University, and a PhD in romance languages from the University of Kansas. She achieved many scholarly honors including a Fulbright grant for study in Poitiers, France during 1954. Over the years Jean taught languages at St. Mary's Hall (Faribault, MN), the College of William and Mary (Williamsburg, VA), and the University of Rhode Island (URI, Kingston, RI) where she remained for many years serving as Associate Professor and Study Abroad Program Coordinator.

It was at URI where Jean met her husband, Kerwin Hyland, a professor and entomologist. Together they took two European sabbaticals and purchased a home in the south of France in 1977 where they spent many summers with their son, Jeffrey, friends, and extended family.

Following her retirement from URI in 1988, Jean worked as the Director of Coventry Community Housing Program.

Jean was a member of the St. Luke's Episcopal Church in East Greenwich and served as Chairperson of the Companion Diocese Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island and the Dominican Republic. In this role she traveled to the Dominican Republic and hosted many traveling dignitaries at her home in Warwick. She enjoyed opera and singing, serving as the President of the West Bay Chorale and Board Member of Music on the Hill for many years.

Jean was active in the Fulbright Association performing officer roles for the RI and NH Chapters. She was also a member of P.E.O. Chapter Q of southeastern NH.

Jean moved to New Hampshire in 2002. She spent much of her time with her cousin, Barbara Spink and her former, husband Dr. Hyland and his wife Irene Hyland, all who resided at Riverwoods of Exeter. She continued to visit her home in France every year until 2017.

Spinning a yarn was one of Jean's greatest joys. At cocktail hours she would regale companions with stories of growing up in Minneapolis, babysitting Hubert Humphrey's daughter on the night of his failed mayoral election, her days as a camp counselor where she capsized canoes and fell off horses, student trips that went hilariously wrong, summers in Europe, and weekends at the family cabin in Thornton, NH.

Jean is survived by her son, Jeffrey Hyland and daughter-in-law Donna Jensen; niece, Anne Scammon; cousins, William Spink, Sharon Palmer, and James Spink; and stepchildren, Janet Hyland, Jeanne Hyland and John Hyland. She also leaves beloved friends around the globe including Philippe Lallemand of South Africa.

ARRANGEMENTS: A celebration of her life is planned for summer 2021. Memorial gifts can be made to Mary's Dogs Rescue & Adoption of Northwood, NH, www.Marysdogs.org. To view Jean's Online Tribute, send condolences to the family, or for more information, visit www.csnh.com.