Jean Regan Caliman, 68, of Massapequa, New York, passed away on June 21, 2023, after a nearly three-year battle with cancer.

Jean was born on March 5, 1955, to John J. Regan and Evelyn M. Regan, in Manhattan, New York. She grew up in Massapequa, New York. After graduating from Berner High School in 1973, she went on to study English at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, and graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. After graduation, she worked briefly at the publishing company Copland, Inc. in Manhattan, New York, before shifting to working in early childhood and primary school settings.

In 1977, she met Wayman, and they were engaged three months later. They wed in 1978, due to her mother’s insistence that Jean and Wayman know each other through four seasons before getting married. They went on to have two children, Joanna and Bradley. Jean was a highly dedicated, endlessly supportive, and effusively loving mother, who made a point of letting her children know regularly how much she loved them and how proud she was of all they did. She in turn showed these same qualities to her grandchildren, Jack, Liam, and Emmet, whom she adored.

Jean worked as a teacher assistant at Farmingdale Care and at the Pre-School Program in the Syosset-Woodbury Community Center for nearly 30 years. Many of the people she worked with considered her not only a coworker, but also a close friend, a confidant, a person to share laughs with, and some even as chosen family.

Jean was an avid reader, and belonged to a book group that met monthly to discuss a mutually read book and to talk over coffee. She regularly completed word searches with tea at her side, as she kept watch over the house and planned for the future. She was a devout Catholic, who raised her children Catholic, received her sacraments, ushered at mass, and attended mass remotely when she was unable to make it in person. Jean loved spending time with her wide circle of long-time friends–going out for meals or talking on the phone–and the warmth with which they speak of her as we spread the word of our loss shows the depth of care she showed others, and the positive effects it had on all their lives. Jean had a great sense of humor and deep empathy for others. The loss of Jean is profound, as we all are better people for having known her, and can only hope to continue to treat others by her example.

Jean is survived by her husband of over 44 years, Wayman; her brother, John; her daughter, Joanna, her husband, Seth, and their son, Emmet; and her son, Bradley, his wife, Maureen, and their sons, Jack and Liam.

Donations in her name to the American Heart Association (www.heart.org/aware) or Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (giving.mskcc.org/give-to-msk) would be greatly appreciated.

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