Mrs. Jean Rowley Ellestad, of Frankfort, Kentucky, who was known for her vivacity, deep faith, love of family, and tender heart, died unexpectedly and peacefully at home on Tuesday, March 24. She was 78. She was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on October 25, 1947, to George Rowley and Cordelia Belew Rowley. She and her older sister Karen, with whom she was close all her life, were raised by their beloved mother and grandparents, the Rev. and Mrs. Clarence Franklin Belew, traveling with “Mama and Papa” when the latter’s vocation as a Methodist minister called them to new parsonages around the state of Tennessee. She graduated from Norris High School, in Norris, Tennessee; the University of Tennessee-Knoxville with a Bachelor of Arts (Vol for Life!); and the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Master of Arts in English history. She had a brilliant mind that joyfully captured and retained knowledge, and she was an incredibly diligent student who earned high honors during her academic career, including induction into Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi. While at UW, she met the Rev. Charles “Chuck” Ellestad in class as fellow students, but it was a full year before he found the courage to ask her out on a date. For many months before that, he simply watched her walking down Bascom Hill from his office window, smitten by her magnetic personality and great beauty. They courted for a decade, and though she vowed never to be a preacher’s wife, they were married in 1982, in front of two witnesses and a priest. She was a talented athlete, and worked for a time in the Saddlebred industry, assisting her cousin, Jean McLean Davis, in her equestrian career. She also served as a hospital administrator at the V.A. in Madison, and at Ephraim McDowell Hospital in Danville, Kentucky, keeping the wards under her care spotless and entertaining her staff with her infectious humor. But her real calling was as a devoted mother to her two children, David and Karen, who were given a priceless legacy of love and learning under her care. She was involved in every aspect of raising them and was present for every part of their lives from the time they were born until her last day. She loved traveling with her family, especially to “The Beach” on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and planned all year long for those two special weeks in August, when she fearlessly bodysurfed the late-summer waves of the Atlantic, which she called the “big rollers.” She also loved to bring her children to the dugout of her YMCA softball games and was a mean second baseman. She even had her own chant: “Jean, Jean, the hittin’ machine.” Much of Jean’s big and boundless heart belonged to her dogs, and she was tireless in her care of Robbie, Penny, and CeCe. She was also a legendary substitute teacher at Second Street School and Frankfort High School, wowing her students with her “table trick” and captivating them with her natural love of teaching and learning. She was a substitute mom for many as well, and a huge part of each day was spent checking in on friends near and far, of whom she had very many. Finally, she was a lifelong Christian and a woman of abiding faith. Not a day went by that she did not begin and end with prayer, and she placed all her trust utterly in the Lord. She was a minister in her own right, demonstrating Christ’s selfless love of others no matter where life took her and giving thanks and praise to God in all things. She was predeceased by her mother and father and is survived by her husband Chuck; her sister Karen West (Dale); her two children, David Ellestad (Rachel) and Karen Enderle (J.R.); and two grandsons, Daniel Ellestad and Frederick Enderle. A visitation will be held on Friday, March 27, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., at Rogers Funeral Home, 507 West 2nd Street, in Frankfort. Her funeral will be on Saturday, March 28, at 11:00 a.m., at St. Hubert’s Episcopal Church, 1436 Grimes Mill Road, in Lexington. Donations in her memory may be made to LIFE House for Animals, 14 Fido Court, Frankfort, KY 40601.