Alba Jeanne Trebor-MacConell

Alba Jeanne Trebor-MacConnell, age 87, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, went home to be with Jesus on September 16, 2026. What follows is an extended obituary of her amazing life while here on earth.

Jeanne was born March 28, 1940, in Bozeman, Montana, to Melvin "Mike" and Sylvia Denham. Mike was a heavy equipment operator most of his life, but in his later years he became a commercial fisherman off the Oregon Coast. Sylvia was a full-time homemaker. Born in Mountain View, Arkansas, she married Mike there, and together they slowly worked their way west. Their first son, Alvin "Buck," was born in Mountain View; Ross was born in Oklahoma; Jeanne in Montana; and Carol in Oregon.

Jeanne's childhood was spent along the magnificent Oregon coast in Bandon and Port Orford. She and her siblings loved playing in the forests and hunting for agates on the beaches. In the evenings, the family played games such as Monopoly, danced to records, and sang old gospel songs as well as the latest Elvis hits.

At Bandon High School, Jeanne was a charter member of the National Honor Society, served as secretary of the Student Council during her junior year, and was a delegate to Girls State. She was a Princess in the annual Bandon Cranberry Festival, and in her senior year was voted "The Girl Most Likely to Succeed." Sadly, two boys beat her out for Valedictorian and were named co-valedictorians.

Jeanne participated in track in high school, which may have helped prepare her for another athletic adventure years later. At age 39, she ran her very first marathon in Honolulu, Hawaii, crossing the finish line hand in hand with her husband, Barrie. Four more marathons were to follow before she finally "hung up her shoes."

There was no drama department at her small high school, but Jeanne appeared in the annual play all four years of high school, continuing a love of performing that began when she was an Angel in her church's Christmas pageant.

Jeanne initially majored in mathematics at the University of Washington, but after transferring to the University of Hawaii, she changed her major to Theatre and minored in Religion. One of her favorite claims to "fame" was acting in The Typist and the Tiger with Bette Midler and touring the neighboring Hawaiian Islands. Jeanne was the Tiger and Bette was the Typist. Years later, Jeanne and Barrie were invited backstage to visit Bette while she was touring with her The Divine Miss M show. Bette still remembered her after all those years.

After graduating from the University of Hawaii, Jeanne applied to the Peace Corps but failed the physical examination when one of the tests suggested she might be diabetic. Her next adventure came through a notice on the Kennedy Theatre reader board: a grant to spend a year in Vietnam studying the culture. She applied and, along with six others from across the nation, was selected to spend a year in Saigon, South Vietnam.

The year was 1966. The war was raging, but after spending three months in Hawaii studying Vietnamese, Jeanne set off by herself, stopping in Japan and Hong Kong. It was the beginning of a lifetime of "wandering" and adventure.

Being a single young "round eye" in Vietnam, surrounded by thousands of American soldiers who were lonely for the sound of a voice from home, provided Jeanne with plenty of company. Out of all those eligible bachelors, she chose Barrie Trebor-MacConnell, who was serving his third tour in Vietnam as a Navy Lieutenant Commander with JUSPAO, Joint United States Public Affairs Office.

Jeanne left Vietnam in 1967. Rather than immediately returning home, she continued around the world by herself, traveling through Iran, Yugoslavia, and throughout Europe before finally reaching the shores of the United States. 

After purchasing a 1957 Plymouth for $150, she spent the next nine months visiting relatives and working her way up, down, and across the country. One highlight was arriving in New Orleans on the eve of Mardi Gras, finding a room in a private home in the French Quarter, and staying for a month while working as a typist by day and a waitress by night.

Eventually, Jeanne met up with Barrie in Reno, Nevada, where they were married on August 25, 1968. 

Barrie was then stationed at Pearl Harbor on the staff of the Commandant of the 14th Naval District, followed by assignments with NORAD in Colorado Springs and finally in Norfolk, Virginia, where he retired from the Navy in 1973. The couple then moved to Everett, Washington, to be near family.

Encouraged by her success selling their home in Colorado on her own, Jeanne entered the real estate world and earned her real estate license in 1974. That led to another great adventure: buying a small house on a cliff on a private island off the Washington coast known locally as Hat Island. 

Her adventurous spirit then led her to attend the Gompers Boat Building School in Seattle. That, in turn, led to the purchase of Wind Chime, a 30-foot sloop that carried Jeanne and Barrie back to Hawaii in 1979-with their two dachshunds as their only crew.

In Honolulu, Jeanne first worked for H&R Block, where she became a top producer. She became a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and an Enrolled Agent before obtaining her real estate license and going to work for Century 21.

 An opportunity to purchase rental contracts led to the formation of The Property Managers Ltd., in 1985, where Jeanne became co-owner and Principal Broker for many years. She was selected by the business community as a delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business in Washington, D.C. The company she formed with her partners operated 27 years before Jeanne and her partners eventually sold it to a larger company.

Always being "a bit of a wanderer" led Jeanne to become an Elderhostel leader in 1990. She took groups to Fiji, the Cook Islands, Tonga, Western Samoa, and Tahiti, as well as leading many programs on the island of Oahu. 

While still in Hawaii, she created Run for the Gold, a 10K benefit run for Temple Israel. She loved the sea and served as a docent for the Friends of the Falls of Clyde. Jeanne and Barrie also began square dancing in Hawaii and became active members of the Diamond Heads and Sides. 

Eventually, their journey brought them from Hawaii to Sandpoint, Idaho, where they retired. Jeanne danced with the Hoodoo Valley Hoedowners, bowled with the Alley Dusters- winning the league in 1995, joined the Friends of the Library, served on the Education Committee for the Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, and graduated from Leadership Sandpoint in 1994.

In 1996, they moved to Coeur d'Alene, where Jeanne sang with the Sweet Adelines and bowled at Sunset Lanes for many years. In 1997, she joined The Red Hot Mamas as a singer and dancer and performed with them in many shows for charity, as well as for President Bush at his inauguration in 2000.

 Jeanne had also begun acting again. She auditioned for and received the part of Ouiser in Steel Magnolias, one of her favorite roles. She also loved playing Ma Joad in The Grapes of Wrath at North Idaho College, Mrs. Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life and Penny Sycamore in You Can't Take It with You at Spokane Civic Theatre, and Miss Myrtle in Smoke on the Mountain at Lake City Playhouse in Coeur d'Alene. She also appeared in several movies, television episodes, television commercials, and voice-over projects.

 In 1999, Jeanne went to Clown School and became a Caring Clown for the next ten years. Her heart was especially touched by the many hours she spent in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and hospitals, performing for those who were sick or lonely. She clowned with Patch Adams in Russia and with Caring Clowns International in Vietnam in 2005.

But the defining joy of Jeanne's life began in 1997, when she started taking Precept Bible classes at Coeur d'Alene Bible Church and studying each Sunday with Pastor Day. She completed ten books of the Bible there before moving to Candlelight Christian Fellowship Church, where she continued studying with Pastor Paul Van Noy and Lou Shadwick.

In 2007, Jeanne joined Koinonia Institute, earning her Bronze Medallion in 2008 and becoming a Teaching Assistant for the Institute's online Bible classes. She earned her Silver Medallion in 2011. This became a joyful time of fellowship with students from around the world and continued until shortly before her death.

Jeanne was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Barrie; her parents; both of her brothers and her sister Carol Baines.

She is survived by her two nieces Caroline Baines, Paula McDaniel and her husband Mike; her beloved grandnieces, Sophia and Olivia, and grandnephew, Drake, of Washington. She is also survived by her stepchildren, Barrie Trebor-MacConnell, Jr., Brian MacConnell, and Ginger MacConnell as well as 5 step-grandchildren and 7 step-great grandchildren

Those who wish to remember Jeanne are asked to do so in the way she most deeply desired: tell someone today that Jesus Christ is Lord and encourage them to accept His offer of eternity with Him.

Jeanne lived a life filled with adventure, service, laughter, performance, learning, friendship, travel, and-above all-faith. She wandered far and often, but her journey ultimately brought her home to the promise she cherished most: that through Jesus Christ, death is not the end, and that those who belong to Him will one day be together again.