Jean Manchester

Jean Manchester, age 91, of Madison, passed away peacefully on Sunday, October 15, 2017.
Jean was born in Baraboo on June 28, 1926, to Henry and Adeline (Keller) Kinzler. Jean's family later moved to Prairie du Sac. After high school, Jean attended the University of Wisconsin - Madison, graduating in 1948 with a degree in home economics.
After college, Jean worked as an extension home agent in Grant County, and then joined the National Livestock and Meat Board in Chicago in 1950. There, she tested meat recipes, developed cookbooks, and taught cooking classes in cities across the country. It was during that time that, as a career woman at the age of 28, she truly believed she would never get married or have children. Little did she know that she would soon meet and marry her first husband, Burton "Ted" Neesvig, and that they would be blessed with four children, Jon, Tim, Dan and Ann.
At the time they were married, Ted was the owner of Neesvig's Meat Company. Ted died suddenly in 1966, leaving Jean to raise their four young children ages seven months to nine years. Jean had little time to make a decision about what to do, and quickly realized her one day a week bookkeeping job at Neesvig's would change into taking over the company to support her family and keep the staff of 12 employed. At the time, Jean was 39 years old, and was one of few women (and possibly the only woman) in the nation to own and operate a wholesale meat company.
Jean credited her mother, Adeline, for giving her the strength and fortitude to be anything she wanted to be and to hang tough during difficult times. Jean was also forever grateful for her mother's support. With daycare scarce in those days, when few women worked, Addie came to the rescue. Jean often talked about how her mother, at age 80, would take the bus from Prairie du Sac into Madison on Monday mornings and stay with the family through Friday nights to care for her children while Jean ran Neesvig's.
Under Jean's leadership, Neesvig's was one of the first wholesale meat companies to buy box beef, which reduced waste and promoted portion-controlled cuts for the hotel, restaurant and institutional markets. Through Jean's leadership and innovation, and with the help of her dedicated employees, Neesvig's thrived and expanded over the years, growing from 12 to 50 full-time employees, plus over 100 part-time employees during the gift box season, by the time she sold the business in 1988. Jean became the first woman elected to the board of the National Association of Meat Purveyors, serving on the board from 1976 until 1988, and was recognized for her contributions to the meat industry when she was inducted into the Wisconsin Meat Industry Hall of Fame in 2001.
Jean married Bill Manchester in 1968, and the family grew with the addition of Bill's two children, Reed and Ellen. Later in life, Jean married Roger Biddick in 1991.
Jean generously gave her time and talents to a number of organizations over the years, serving on dozens of boards of directors, including American Family Insurance, MG&E, United Way of Dane County Foundation Board of Trustees (honorary in recent years) and the Madison Club. She was a member of the UW Foundation Board of Directors beginning in 1982 (ex-officio in recent years), and was the first woman to chair the Foundation (1996-1998). Jean also recognized the importance of helping other women in business, and was a founding member of Tempo Madison and The Business Forum, two highly-respected and well-established professional women's organizations. She received the ATHENA Award in honor of her professional excellence and for assisting women in realizing their leadership potential, and was named to In Business Magazine's Business Executive Hall of Fame (2004).
Always supportive of her alma mater, Jean was a generous donor to the UW. Jean completed one of the UW-Madison School of Human Ecology's first 100 Women Campaign gifts and supported scholarship funds throughout the UW, including the Women's Health Research & Education Fund and the Jean Manchester Biddick Professorship in Women's Health Research. She was the Founding Chair and a Lifetime Emeritus of The Women's Philanthropy Council of the University of Wisconsin Foundation, a Founding Board Member of the Board of Visitors for the UW-Madison School of Human Ecology, and a member of the Bascom Hill Society. In 1995, Jean received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the UW Alumni Foundation.
Jean also quietly mentored many women one-on-one, and volunteered her time to her church, Attic Angels, Madison Opportunity Center, MARC, Meals on Wheels, and many other community programs. She received the United Way of Dane County Tocqueville Society Award, which acknowledges those who have made a major impact on the quality of life in Dane County through exceptional service and commitment.
Of Jean's many accomplishments, none was more important to her than her family. Despite her demanding career and her many civic and volunteer activities, Jean always had time for her children and made sure they sat down together for a home-cooked dinner every night. Jean was, quite simply, the best mother and grandmother around.
Jean's family, friends, and those who knew her best will forever remember her warm, inviting smile and her bright blue eyes.
Jean will be deeply missed by her children, Jon Manchester (partner Laura Gibson), Dan (Debbi) Manchester, Ann (Devon) Baumbach, Reed Manchester, Pat (Manoucher) Madani, and Ellen Lattman, and her grandchildren, Kaitlyn and Kylie Baumbach, and Kayla, Katherine and Will; her great-grandchildren, Teegan and Andrew; along with countless other extended family and friends.
Jean was preceded in death by her parents; her sister, Maureen Michelson; her brother, Don Kinzler; her husbands Ted Neesvig (five of Ted's children, Jean, Peggy, Ruthie, Betty, and Burton, Jr.), Bill Manchester and Roger Biddick; her son, Tim Manchester; and her granddaughter Piper Baumbach.
Jean's family appreciates the outpouring of support they have received. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to any number of the various charitable organizations Jean supported over the years.
A visitation will be held on Friday, October 20, 2017, at Cress Funeral Home, 3610 Speedway Road, Madison from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.