Hallie Jean Lewis Ditty

       Hallie Jean Lewis Ditty passed away peacefully on January 26, 2023 at Morning Pointe in Ashland, KY. She had just celebrated her 98th Birthday with a party with her family on January 22.  Jean is survived by her two sons Jack F. Ditty, Jr. M.D. (Juanita) Ashland KY,  Jeffery Lewis Ditty (Maria) Ft. Myers, Florida and daughter Jill Barkley Ditty Meek (Randy) Lexington. She is also survived by her sister Mary Sue Lykins (Bill) Aiken, SC., nine grandchildren Amy Ditty Lochow MD (Steve, MD) Proctorville, Ohio, Jack Foster Ditty III MD (Charlotte) Asheville, NC., Jennifer Ditty Kang (Jay) Louisville, Christy Ditty Hajjar, (Elias) Ashland, Kramer Ditty Ashland, grandson in law Josh Qualls Ashland, Ben Ditty MD (Bailey) Ft. Myers Florida, Cameron Ditty (Melissa) Cincinnati, Ohio, Jade Meek Hall ( Adam) Lexington and Tyler Meek (Cagney) Ft Myers, Fl. She is also survived by eighteen greatgrandchildren; Haven, Torin, Gavin, and Trevor Lochow; Sawyer Ditty, Brady and Anna Hajjar, Foster and Nelson Kang, Atreyu Qualls; Daphne, Linus and Millie Ditty; Sarah Leczcinski, Kate Ditty, Lilly Kate Hall, Josiah and Jordyn Meek. 
     Jean is survived by nieces and nephews including Hallie Maud Tate O’Bryan (Carl, deceased), Martha Sue Lewis Owens (Wilson, deceased), Nancy Adams Brown ( James ), Tobi  Adams McNeal, Timothy  Adams (Lisa), Glenna Lewis, Jean Lewis, Catherine Lewis Mills ( Mike ), Jennifer Lewis Todd ( Tommy Todd),  Blaine Lewis ( Judith ) Jeffrey Lewis  Lykins ( Michelle ), William Lewis Lykins, Chester Ditty ( Lea).
      She was preceded in death by her husband Major Jack Foster Ditty USMC, her parents Blaine and Hallie Heal Lewis, her granddaughters, Julie Ditty Qualls and Gretchen Weinfurtner Leczcinski, sisters Minnie Martha Lewis Tate (Hayes),  Dorotha Lewis Adams (Chester),  brothers James G. Blaine Lewis Jr. MD (Belle), Thomas Proctor Lewis (Nancy), James Edward Lewis (Mary Ann) and nieces and nephews Martha Lewis Innes (Ian), Karen Lee Lewis, Linda Ditty and Roger Ditty.
Jean was born on January 22, 1925 in Ashland, KY. She grew up in South Ashland with her six siblings. Her father was very supportive in education in Ashland and encouraged all of his children to graduate from college. Jean graduated from Ashland High School 1943 and served as Editor of the Ashland High School Yearbook. She graduated with a degree in Chemistry from Ohio Wesleyan University  in 1947 in Delaware, Ohio as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority, Chi Gamma Nu Chemistry Honorary, Mortar Board and was voted May Queen. She and Jack, also from Ashland, a fighter pilot in the US Marine Corps were married December 30th, 1946 by Joseph Falconer at the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Ashland, Kentucky. 
     After she graduated from Ohio Wesleyan, Jean and Jack returned to their hometown in Ashland where she worked for Ashland Oil Inc., and Jack went to Marshall University on the GI Bill. Then Jack went to work for Ashland Oil and Jean became a wonderful mother to her three children. 
She became a busy homemaker and housewife, playing in multiple bridge clubs, assisting her sister Dorotha Adams with floral decorations at Adams Florist Shop and was President of the Ashland Garden Club.
Suddenly on May 22, 1957, life changed. 
   Her husband Jack suffered a fractured neck and back in a jet plane crash in Memphis, TN while flying in the Marine Corps.He didn’t come home from the hospital until Christmas Day 1957 This changed Jean’s life forever because in addition to her other responsibilities, it required her care of helping him to recover. He spent the next 50 years suffering from the effects of the crash. Jean spent the next 50 years by his side assisting with nursing care. She became even busier because they entertained their many friends at their home on Elliott Avenue in Ashland.  During their formative years Jean took a keen interest in her children’s activities including son’s Jack tennis and introducing golf to her son Jeff when he was ten years old.  She entertained Jill and her friends at home frequently.  She always read to her children when they were small and she kept a continuing record of all of the books that she read for more than fifty years. Jean was a very active civic member and a loving, supporting mother and wife. 
 Jack took early retirement from Ashland Oil and they retired
to West Palm Beach, Florida. When she was forty five, she learned to play tennis and became an avid player and tennis team member for the next thirty-one years. At a 60th Wedding Anniversary Party at Bellefonte Country Club they entertained over 200 guests.  When she was 84 she traveled on her own to Paris, France to watch her granddaughter Julie Ditty play in the French Open. She loved to travel and went to Europe multiple times with the Ashland Roadrunners to England, France, Germany, Italy, Greece and Turkey. She took a German Language class in Ft. Myers Community College and took grandson Jay Ditty and granddaughter Jenny Ditty to Germany when they were 12 and 10 years old. They moved to Fort Myers Florida and later to Woodside in Aiken, South Carolina in order to be close to her sister Mary Sue and Bill Lykins.  Jack Ditty passed away in 2007 and Jean lived in Aiken for five more years before she moved to Lexington, Kentucky to live with her daughter Jill and Randy Meek. In 2018 she moved to Ashland and lived with her son Jack and Juanita Ditty. She was able to stay in touch with many family members in Lexington and Ashland. She moved into Morning Pointe 2020.
She and her family appreciated the care and support that she received from the employees at Morning Pointe. 
There will be a Memorial for Jean Ditty on Friday, February 17, 2023 at 1:00 PM at the Steen Funeral Home on Central Avenue Ashland, KY. In lieu of flowers, Jean requested donations in her memory  can be made to the Julie Ditty Qualls Foundation a non profit supporting health, tennis and fitness for children in the community.  Members Choice Bank Credit Union 145 Russell Road Ashland, KY 41101 or to the Charity of your Choice. 
 

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