Jean Douglas Cadle, a co-founder and editor of the Emmittsburg Dispatch, passed away on December 1, 2024 at the age of 90. She had a peaceful passing surrounded by family at Evelyn’s House, a hospice in Creve Coeur, Missouri.
She was born Jean Read Douglas on January 31, 1934 in Passaic, New Jersey, to George Bruce Douglas and Corrie Van de Stadt Douglas. They soon moved to Frederick, Maryland where she and her family lived in a great "house on the hill" and where generations of Douglas’s spent so many wonderful hours together.
In Frederick High School, she was known as "Jeannie with the light brown hair" and her effervescent smile graced anyone who met her, but it shined extra bright for her crush in high school, William "Bo" Cadle, whom she would marry years later as a widow.
Jean was always athletic, playing varsity basketball in high school and playing with her grandkids right into her 70’s. During high school, Jean worked at a Frederick radio station, where she met Howard Streeter, a decorated World War II and Korean War veteran.
They quickly fell in love, but put off marriage so she could attend Wilson College in
Chambersburg, Penn. for one year, where she was voted class president. They married in 1953 and lived in Baltimore where 4 children were born before moving to Washington, DC, where Howard served as a television news correspondent and they had one more child.
In 1964 they moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where Howard became a local TV news anchor, and Jean continued to be an extraordinarily loving and involved mother to her 5 kids. Howard died suddenly in 1975, and in the years following, Jean was not only an always patient and kind mother to 5 teenagers, but went back to school completing her bachelor’s degree and then a master's degree in History, leading to her work as an archivist with the Missouri Historical Society, cataloging the Charles Lindbergh collection.
In 1990, she reconnected with William ‘Bo’ Cadle, and Jean moved to Emmitsburg,
Maryland where they married in 1992. Their strong desire to serve Bo’s hometown of Emmitsburg led to the beginning of the community newspaper, the Emmitsburg Dispatch, which was first published in December 1993. They would continue to publish the paper for the next 8 ½ years from their home by the creek on Harney Road.
In 2014, Jean and Bo moved to SpiriTrust Lutheran Village in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where they formed new friendships, and their warm and cozy home became another gathering space for family. Bo passed away in January 2020 with Jean by his side.
Jean cherished annual family trips to Chincoteague, Virginia, early trips as a family to Stone Harbor, New Jersey, and anytime the large and boisterous family could get together at their home. She was known to play a mean game of Pitch or Dominoes, usually involving a fair amount of laughter from all those playing with her. Jean loved gardening, cutting flowers to put in her favorite vases, and playing the piano on her cherished Steinway grand piano.
Jean was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers George Bruce Douglas III and Malcolm Douglas.
Jean is survived by her children, Howard (Florence) Streeter. Elisa (Chris Sanford) Streeter, Robert (Amy Carter) Streeter, Gregory (Erika) Streeter & Rebecca (David) Krysiak. She was a beloved Nana and Aunt Jeannie, and is also survived by 12 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, many nieces and nephews and her dear sister-in-law, Penny Douglas.
A celebration of life will be held at 11:30 AM on Saturday, April 19th at the Emmitsburg Presbyterian Church. The family will receive friends at the church following the service.
