Jean Wiechel Ogle
Jean W. Ogle passed away peacefully in her home on April 2, 2025, just four months shy of her 100th birthday. A beloved mother, grandmother and friend, Jean was born in Port Clinton, Ohio on August 2, 1925, the youngest of two children of Charles and Hazel Wiechel. Her childhood years during the Great Depression were spent along the shores of Lake Erie and on her grandparents’ peach orchard on Catawba Island. Always a top student in math and the sciences, Jean also revealed a talent for singing early on and was often her church choir’s soloist. She attended the University of Michigan as a voice major, developing a beautiful operatic soprano voice that her children still clearly recall rising above the din during the national anthem at school and sporting events.
Jean’s first marriage gave her two sons, Kirk and Christopher Wheaton, before she united with the love of her life, Burdette “Bud” Ogle, in 1963. Over the ensuing 44 years, they formed an exceptional, dynamic team as Jean played an integral role in Bud’s development of his independent oil and gas company. Theirs was an extraordinary and enduring love. They were never happier than when dancing in each other’s arms to the big band music they knew from their younger years.
During her free time, Jean was an avid bird watcher and a master gardener with an extensive knowledge of plant taxonomy. She loved travel, and her saved passports reveal trips to Columbia, Peru, Europe, the UK, Bermuda and, notably, Libya in 1970 shortly after Muammar Gadhafi rose to power. Surprisingly to some, she also enjoyed fly fishing and was a crack shot with her Browning “Sweet Sixteen” shotgun. Jean particularly loved her time on the tennis court, where she developed lifelong friendships and a fierce net game that earned her the nickname “Mean Jean.” She later applied that same intensity to a weekly bridge group comprised of dear friends and former tennis partners.
Jean unquestionably endured moments of tragedy during her life, losing two sons many years before her own death, but her boundless energy and vibrant spirit always re-emerged from sadness. Following Bud’s death in 2007, Jean poured her artistic energy into painting, diligently honing an exceptional talent developed many years before and producing a remarkable and prolific body of work right up until her 99th year.
Jean was, above all, a passionate wife and partner to Bud, a loving mother, and a doting grandmother to her six grandchildren. Whether decorating a room with abundant color, performing a little “soft shoe” dance routine for her grandchildren, or donning a festive hat for any holiday, Jean strove to live life to its fullest and to celebrate each and every day. She was, simply put, undeniably spunky. Her buoyant personality, sparkling blue eyes and radiant smile lit up every room she entered. She will be sorely missed, but her spirit and light live on in those she loved.
Jean is survived by her daughter Scotia Ogle, her son, Flint Ogle (wife, Elisabeth), her grandchildren Linda, Kinnick, Teegan, Clare, Sebastian and Beckett, and three great-grandchildren. Contributions in her memory may be made to Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, 5425 Hollister Ave., Santa Barbara, CA 93111 (www.sansum.org), and The Cheetah Conservation Fund, P.O. Box 2496, Alexandria, VA 22301 (cheetah.org).
