Jean Elizabeth Placido

Jean Elizabeth Placido was born in Detroit, Michigan November 21, 1939 and moved to Arizona in 1962 with her parents Mary and Dominic and brother Rick. Her parents knew she was special from early in her life and never wavered in their love and care for her as she lived with them for over 67 years. When it was time to live on her own, she charged right in with a positive attitude, never looking back. She was then blessed to live in a group home family with wonderful roommates and many loving care givers.

Jean loved music and dancing. As a teen she would swing dance with her bedroom door while holding on to the handle. This enjoyment of music and dance carried on for a lifetime, up to and including most recently, Friday dances with her friends. The radio was ever present with Jean, the oldies were her favorites, switching from station to station until she would land on the perfect song and was very adept at guessing the artist.

Sports were also an important part of her life. She enjoyed bowling and was a big fan of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Phoenix Suns; watching them on TV and going to games with her family. Jean had many Suns and DBacks shirts and memorabilia she wore and displayed proudly and was always happy to get more. Even on her last day with us she wanted to know if the Suns won.

She also enjoyed her calendars and magazines, always looking forward to the next arrival of a magazine or receiving the gift of a calendar. One of her favorite activities was underlining and circling each of the letters in magazine articles as if creating a secret code no one else could figure out. The diligence Jean displayed working in her magazines was also ever present as she put together jigsaw puzzles piece by piece by piece, collecting helpers along the way, and never giving up until the last piece was placed.

Loving, happy, courageous, strong in spirit and always caring about others was the essence of Jean. She loved her family and friends unconditionally and was always very interested in what was happening in their lives. She never met a party she didn’t want to attend and was always thinking about the next time family or friends were going to gather.

Jean lived a simple and deep life; laser focused on others: happily caring about them and what was happening in their lives, always before herself. This was the gift she gave us (and remembering everyone’s birthdate). We’ll think of her always and hopefully remember what she taught us with her simple and pure beauty.

She was preceded in death by her parents Dominic and Mary Placido. She is survived by her brother Rick Placido and wife Ellen; niece Katie Fumusa (Placido) and husband Vince; great nephews Jacob and Aaron Fumusa; great nieces Rose and Grace Fumusa; Nephew Vince Placido and wife Allison Ghan; great nephews Francis and Anthony Placido; niece Mary Gomez (Placido) and husband Esteban Gomez; great nephew Dominic Gomez; and cousins Barbara Graham and Albert Guzman.

A Visitation will be held on Sunday, April 2, 2023 from 4:00 – 7:00 P.M., at Whitney & Murphy Funeral Home, 4800 E. Indian School Rd., in Phoenix. A Funeral Mass will be held the following day, Monday, April 3, 2023 at 10:00 A.M at St. Agnes Catholic Church, 1954 N. 24th St., in Phoenix. Burial will follow at St. Francis Catholic Cemetery, 2033 N. 48th St., in Phoenix. Condolences may be expressed at www.whitneymurphyfuneralhome