Jean Carmeta Wolverton (1892-1974), Reed College class of 1915, was an accomplished artist and naturalist. Her father, Bruce Wolverton, was born in a covered wagon on the Oregon Trail, and their family settled in the Willamette Valley. With Reed College opening its doors in 1911, Jean was one of the first women to attend. Reed welcomed women into their college and provided a pathway to education at a time when it was more unusual for a woman to have the opportunity to earn a degree. She played basketball and danced at Reed while teaching and working with students while pursuing her degree in education. Jean was able to break through these barriers while attending Reed, where she was elected Vice President of her Freshman class and later elected Secretary and Treasurer of the Student Body Council.
Jean practiced her artistic skills during her time at Reed, illustrating playbills on campus for student performances.
Later known by her married name, Jean W. Petite, she utilized her education at Reed to become a dedicated and accomplished educator, artist and illustrator. Jean was inspired by and specialized in birds, flowers and the nature that surrounded her. She illustrated several magazine covers for Nature Magazine, and Better Flowers (published by the Portland Rose Society).
Jean also illustrated two books by her son titled “The Elderberry Tree” and “The Best Time of Year”. Her son, Irving Petite, was a NY Times best selling author and naturalist, who was heavily influenced by his mother’s respect and love of nature.
Jean held Art Shows along the west coast throughout her career and her art was featured in the Expo ’70 World’s Fair in Osaka, Japan. Jean’s intricately detailed and accurate paintings of birds, were utilized to document and teach about birds and wildlife. Her paintings of birds were made into slides and sold to Washington and California public schools as a teaching guide, which became one of her most outstanding art and educational achievements. She studied birds extensively throughout the Pacific Northwest, California, Hawaii and Mexico. In 1972, the State of California Parks and Recreation Department commissioned Jean to document 48 Shore and Sea Birds at the Point Lobos State Reserve which was published as a guide called “The Birds of Point Lobos”.
Jean was one of the original Reedies and her legacy as an artist was passed down through generations with a familial tradition of artists, musicians, writers and a family that embraces nature.
–Tonya Morris, great-granddaughter of Jean