March is Women’s History Month.
Jean Marie Callahan was born on January 12, 1930, in Boston, Massachusetts, according to her obituary in the Ventura County Star (California), May 24, 2022. Her parents were Patrick Ambrose (Amos) and Kathleen, both Canadians.
In the 1930 United States Census, Callahan was the youngest of four siblings. They were Boston residents at 214 Bowdoin Street (lines 23–28). Her father was a carpenter.
According to the 1940 census, sometime after 1935 the family of seven (lines 62–68) moved to Manhattan, New York City at 985 Amsterdam Avenue. Callahan’s father was a railroad motorman.
The obituary said she graduated from Cathedral High School in 1947. Information about Callahan’s art training has not been found.
The 1950 census said Callahan’s mother was the head of the household (lines 25–29). Her parents had separated. They lived in the Bronx at 1920 Loring Place South. Callahan was a “cartoon letterer” at a “magazine printer”. It’s not known which publisher employed her. Callahan is not in Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 or the Grand Comics Database. She had twelve years of education and earned $1,505 in 1949.
The New York, New York Marriage License Index, at Ancestry.com, said Callahan and Anthony W. Ullrich obtained a Bronx marriage license, number 6076, on July 13, 1951. The date of the marriage is not known.
At some point the couple moved to southern California and started a family. They divorced in March 1970, according to the California Divorce Index at Ancestry.com.
Callahan passed away on May 7, 2022 in Simi Valley, California. The obituary said
… Jean had a long career working for Ventura County public libraries, which was perfect because she had a life-long love of books. Reading was her favorite pastime, as well as watching Jeopardy! She enjoyed football, making her coveted baby quilts, playing cards with her friends, and going to and hosting bible study.For many decades Jean attended St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church and was a dedicated parishioner. She taught CCD and volunteered her time at the annual carnival and hand-washed and ironed the holy purificators for years. She was also a eucharistic minister. In 2004, Jean was called to take vows in the Order of the Discalced Carmelites (OCD). …
Women in Comics Posts
Jeanne Alippe, Ruth Atkinson, Olive Bailey, Valerie Barclay, Vivian Berg, Jean Callahan, Helen Chu aka Duffy Mohler, Ellen Cole, Corinne Boyd Dillon, Anahid Dinkjian,
Barbara Clark Fogel, Evelyn Gaines aka Lynn Lovelace, Merna Gamble, Gerda Gattel, Selma Meyers Gleit, Jane Krom Grammer,
Georgette Sauterel, Marie Severin, Marcia Snyder, Lora Sprang aka Pat Gordon, Serena Summerfield, Daisy Swayze, Terry Szenics, Claire Szep,
Comics Letterers Posts
A. Machine and Royal Cartoon, Mario Acquaviva, Gerald Altman, Gene Barnett, Vivian Berg, Daniel Bhang, Ray Burley, Ray Burzon,
Gerda Gattel, Louis L. Goldklang, Angelo Grasso, Anita Greene, Al Grenet, Ed Hamilton, Ray Holloway, IBM Directory, Alex Jay, Albert and Charlotte Jetter,
Abe Kanegson, George Kapitan, Anna Kaufman, Gary Keller, Nadine French King, Ralph Komisarow, Grace Kremer, Morrie Kuramoto, Al Kurzrok,
Robert N. MacLeod/Leroy Lettering, Lee Maroshek, Larry Mayer, Jack Meltzer, Jim Novak, Bill Oakley, Ben Oda,
Georgette Sauterel, Ira Schnapp, Irving Settel, Rome Siemon, Artie Simek, Lora Sprang aka Pat Gordon, Herman Stackel, Stan Starkman, Daisy Swayze, Zoltan and Terry Szenics,
Richard Deane Taylor, Alberta Tews, Irv Watanabe, Leo Wurtzel, John Yakata, Bill Yoshida, Bernie Zuber
(Next post on Monday: Laura E. Foster, Illustrator and Cartoonist)
