Jean Loemker Read, Born December 24, 1944, Died November 9, 2025.
Jean Elizabeth Loemker was born in Huntington, West Virginia in 1944 to Kenneth Karl and Ruth Mullen Loemker. She attended Marshall Lab School, graduating in 1962. She attended Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, receiving her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with high honors in 1966, continuing her studies in chemistry to earn her Masters degree in 1968 with a research thesis on monohalosubstituted fluorobenzenes.
She was employed by DuPont as a research chemist in Wilmington, Delaware and later taught Chemistry at Lamar University in Orange, Texas. After returning to West Virginia, she taught chemistry and studied potential cures for HIV at Marshall University. Later she worked as a safety officer at the US Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District for 22 years, retiring in 2014. Upon retirement she dedicated her service to Hospice, volunteering as caregiver and knitting prayer shawls to provide comfort and solace to hospice patients and their families. She was recognized twice for her volunteer service to Hospice, receiving the George Parker “Spirit of Hospice” Award in 2011 to recognize her as Volunteer of the Year in the state of West Virginia and the Patient Care Volunteer of the Year award from Hospice of Huntington in 2016.
Outside of work, Jean was an avid crafter, and particularly enjoyed knitting, sewing, and quilting. She enjoyed birdwatching and reading. Jean also loved to watch her Atlanta Braves baseball team, once visiting Turner Field and meeting Hank Aaron for an on-field experience.
Jean will always be remembered for her keen mind and generous heart, and the impact of those two informed the story of her life and enriched her community. Her early career focused on preventing a deadly and debilitating disease; later in her career she worked to ensure the safety of others through accident prevention; and in retirement she invested her energy into providing comfort to those struggling through the most difficult of times.
Jean is survived by her sister Mary Margaret King, her two daughters Elizabeth Henning Read Martin married to Dr. Thomas Mathew Martin (US Army Colonel Retired) of Williamston, SC and Kathryn Anne Read Collison married to Dr. John Raines Collison of Apex, NC, and grandchildren Kenna, Jessica, Thomas Jr, Sarah, Patrick, Ruthie, and Julia.
A celebration of life service will be held Saturday, December 6, 2025 from 2:00 – 4:00PM in the Hampton Room at the Woodlands Retirement Community. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Kenneth Karl Loemker Scholarship fund at Marshall University.
https://give.marshall.edu/project/26398/donate
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