Jean Underwood, the wife of beloved faculty member and dean Jim Underwood, who died in 2021, is being remembered by the Union College community for her devotion to the College, her compassionate and joyful nature, and her steadfast partnership with her husband.
Jean, who passed away last summer, served as Union’s first lady during the 2005–06 academic year, when Jim was interim president. In that role, she hosted events at the President’s House and traveled with Jim to alumni gatherings across the country.
“She loved to entertain, and that was an important part of her responsibilities,” said Clifford Brown. “It could be stressful, but she took it very seriously, and Jim always gave her full credit.”
President Emeritus Roger Hull first met Jean in 1990, when Jim was serving as dean of faculty. “From the moment I met Jean, two things were clear—she always had a smile, and she was deeply supportive of Jim,” Hull said. He often reminded Jean of the vital role she played in what he fondly referred to as the “Jean and Jim Show.”
Jean grew up in Pittman, N.J., during World War II, while her father was stationed in France and her mother navigated daily life with ration stamps. Those formative experiences shaped her lifelong sense of frugality. “We would say she was cheap, really cheap,” joked her older daughter, Karen DiMaio.
When Jean met Jim, she was enrolled in a five-year program earning both bachelor’s and registered nursing degrees. “This may shock some of my faculty colleagues,” Jim once said in a 2005 interview, “but I met Jean at a fraternity party.”
Compassionate and steady by nature, Jean spent much of her career in nursing before 20 years of service as a hospice volunteer. “She was very good with the patients, but she was also exceptional with the families, who often needed even more support,” Karen said. Jean sometimes brought her daughters along on hospice visits.
When Jean entered hospice care last year, she knew what to expect. “My sister and I are grateful that it was only four weeks between her diagnosis and her death,” Karen said.
Jean’s warmth extended beyond her immediate family. When Dan Stewart ’85 arrived on campus as a football recruit, the quarterback was greeted by a fellow native of Irwin, Pa.: Jim Underwood. So began a bond with the Underwoods, who hosted Stewart’s family when they came to Schenectady to watch Dan lead some of Union’s winningest teams.
At other times, Jean welcomed Dan to their Niskayuna home for homecooked meals, a welcome respite in the days when a phone call home was rare. “Jean said I was the son she never had,” Stewart said. “I thought of her as my mom away from home.”
In the late 1980s, the Underwoods purchased a home in Cooperstown, where they frequently welcomed guests, many of them friends from Union. Jean loved entertaining there, recalled her younger daughter, Carolyn. The house featured a porch swing and was just a few blocks from the baseball field Jim loved and the Otesaga Hotel, where the couple could often be found on the dance floor.
The Underwood home was always filled with laughter, music and dance, the daughters recalled. Jean loved to sing everything from Broadway tunes to simple rounds. The couple installed a dance floor which was well used by parents and daughters alike.
“I recall watching Jean and Jim dance, admiring not only their talent as dancers but also their devotion to one another,” said Carol S. Weisse, the Ronald M. Obenzinger Professor of Psychology.
Of all of Jean’s many admirers, the one most impressed was Jim Underwood.
“My dad always said that my mom could do anything, and he was always in awe of that because he couldn’t,” Karen said. “The older he got, he said, ‘I could never live without you.’ She was the love of his life.”
Besides their daughters, the Underwoods are survived by four grandchildren, Connor, Griffin, Grace and Anna.