Jean Marie Treat (Hager)

Jean Marie Treat, 93, of Independence, MO. Jean was born in Oregon on April 26, 1923 to George P. and Grace Hager. She had three brothers and one sister; Nadine the oldest, George E., Jean Marie, Harold L. and John F., with Jean being the middle child. They lived in a fairly large house and her father was a Laundry Route Manager to the people of the area. There was a vacant parcel of land next to their house that the city owned which was not big enough to build a house on. Her father got permission from the city to plant a garden there and this was done during the Great Depression. From this garden he fed his family and helped many of the church people. Jean’s father was a pastor of The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a position which he held for many years. She became a member of the church also. During her childhood when visiting ministry would travel through they would stay at their home and the many testimonies shared around their kitchen table was a great inspiration to Jean throughout her life. Jean graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School in Portland, Oregon in 1941. She graduated with General Course Study’s degree. She was a member of these clubs; Live Wire, Benjys, and Commerce. She was in the Senior Play. Jean married Cliff Sherman on April 6, 1946 while she lived in Oregon. Jean was unable to have children but every summer she had her nieces and nephews who would spend much of the summer with her and Cliff. She had a love for children and spent time in ministry to them. She and Cliff moved to Northern California where they built a home in the mountains. Cliff had a motorcycle he often rode back and forth to work on. Cliff and Jean would take weekend camping trips on the motorcycle. They also owned what we call a Volkswagen Bug. After his health declined he fixed himself a bed in the back seat and drove it from California to Ohio where he had family. Then he drove on to Independence, MO where he met Jean who had flown there from California and they visited with friends and family. After their visit Jean flew back and Cliff drove back to California. As the plane lifted off the runway the Lord told Jean they to move here. At this time Cliff was having heart trouble. A couple of months after they returned home Cliff mentioned to her he felt led to move back to Missouri. Then Jean shared her experience with him. They began to make preparation to sell the house in California and move to Independence, Mo. Jean told the Lord they would move when He sold the house. During this time they were talking to a neighbor and when they told him they were moving he said I want to buy your house. He had watched it being built and knew the quality of work that went into it. He paid them cash and they were on their way to Missouri. They bought a home in Independence, MO. After moving here they attended church at the Enoch Hill congregation of The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints where they met Ray and Mary Lee Treat. They became the best of friends. They also became part of a small group which was seeking a closer relationship with the Lord. During this time there was a tornado that hit the Kansas City area. Jean heard the announcement of TV and the warning sirens. She told Cliff they needed to go to the basement but he refused to go. She went outside and saw the tornado. She spoke to the tornado, told it not to destroy their home and to rise up and go over their home. The tornado rose up and went over Independence and came back down over and around Liberty. At this time she worked as a bookkeeper and there were some unusual things taking place so she asked the Lord to take care of the situation. The business burned down twice and finally went out of business. She was a lady of great faith. Then on January 21, 1991 Cliff died of a heart attack. After Cliff died, Jean began to experience some health problems of her own and Mary Lee Treat was a support to her. A few years later Mary Lee also died. Ray needed someone who understood what he was going through and someone who shared a similar or common understanding of the Lord, so from time to time Ray would visit with Jean. These visits led to the desire to marry. Jean gave Ray all kinds of reasons why they shouldn’t marry, such as their age difference, her health, and etc. Some time later Ray was at a reunion in North Dakota teaching a class. During that reunion the Lord spoke to Ray through one of the Elders and told him the Lord was preparing a wife for him. Shortly after this service he called Jean and told her the experience. That same morning Jean woke up and had her own experience. While sitting on the side of the bed she saw what she described as ticker tape running across her bedroom wall which said “This is a marriage arranged in heaven.” Shortly there after Ray and Jean were married on November 1, 1995. During this time Ray completed his work on the Restored Covenant Edition of the Book of Mormon. His desire was to create an edition as close as possible to the Original writings used in the original manuscript and the printer’s manuscript. Jean gave Ray much encouragement during this time. A few years later there was a desire for some of the people in Africa to have the Restored Covenant Edition translated into their language. Ray spent a week or so in Africa helping to get this work started. A few days after returning home he came down with malaria. He was in the hospital for a week. The doctor told Jean after a few days that she needed to put him in a health care facility because he was not going to get any better. He was basically comatose. She refused and the next day an Elder called and told her he had an experience where he was to come and pray for Ray and wanted to know if Jean would consent to this, which she did. The next day he brought another Elder and they prayed for Ray. Jean went down to eat in the cafeteria and when she came back Ray’s bed was empty. At first she was very distraught; of course we always think the worse, a little later she found him walking down the hall with a nurse. The next day he went home recovered from the malaria. Sometime after Ray finished the book he had a stroke which destroyed much of his memory. Jean’s health began to get worse and during this time a number of people gave them support and help. So as not to overlook anyone, I will not mention any names. The health of Jean and Ray finally reached the point where they could no longer remain in their home and they had to be placed in a health care facility where Jean died March 17, 2017. A woman of faith, she was a loving, supportive wife and a mother in Zion, tough she had no children of her own. Jean will be greatly missed for her strong testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. She knew Him personally and I am sure she is enjoying that opportunity to visit with Him and those many other Saints who have gone before her. A Memorial services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, March 25, 2017 at Carson Speaks Chapel, 1501 W. Lexington Ave., Independence, MO. Inurnment in Missouri State Veteran’s Cemetery, Higginsville, MO.