Jeannie Mary Gresko (née Vandenberg) was born in Evanston, Illinois on August 30, 1956, and left to be reunited with her loving parents in Heaven on August 8, 2022.

Through her early years, Jeannie's family moved from Wilmette, Illinois to Decatur, Illinois to Mt Lebanon, Pennsylvania to finally settle in Centerville, Ohio, where she graduated from Centerville High School. While in high school, Jeannie joined the Saint Francis Teen Club (SFTC) which met at the nearby Saint Leonard's Franciscan Seminary, where she met her friends who would be 'Friends Forever', and still are to this day. After graduation, Jeannie attended college and graduated from Ohio University with a bachelor's degree in psychology. It was at Ohio University where she met her future husband and life partner for over 42 years, Mark Gresko.

Jeannie married Mark on May 23, 1980, and immediately embarked on traveling the world together, first by moving to Houston, Texas, then Blacksburg, Virginia and then Plano, Texas, all within the first 5 years of marriage. Jeannie and Mark (and their dog Bailey) embarked on their ultimate travels by moving to Jakarta, Indonesia in 1992, where they happily lived for 9 years and then they moved to Shekou, China for four years before returning to Houston where they've enjoyed living for the last 18 years.

One of Jeannie's greatest passions was music: she loved singing (always backup, never the lead), leading the Youth Choir at church, performing with the Jakarta Singers (choir) and the Jakarta Players (musical theater) or in bands with friends. She also had a passion for helping all of God's creatures: she expressed this by her 15 years of volunteer work at TWRC Wildlife Center in Houston. She first started rehabbing baby squirrels and later she helped run the organization as acting President for four years. In the last couple years, she developed a talent for wildlife and nature photography, especially at her "Happy Place", on the beach in Destin Florida.

Jeannie is survived by her loving husband, Mark and her brother, Tony Vandenberg and wife Denise; nephews Abraham Vantze and wife Amber, and Nicholas Vandenberg and partner Maryka Lier. She is also survived by many loving cousins, Mark's family and her dearest forever friends from SFTC. She was preceded in death by her parents, Anthony and Patricia Vandenberg and numerous aunts and uncles.

A mass celebrating Jeannie's life will be held on Friday, September 16 at St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Centerville, Ohio at 10:30 am. A social event will be held immediately afterwards. Jeannie's remains will be interred, near her parents, in the Memorial Gardens at the Church of Our Savior, Cocoa Beach, Florida in the weeks to follow.

In lieu of flowers, Jeannie's family requests that donations be made to TWRC Wildlife Center in Houston (twrcwildlifecenter.org) and specify the donation to the Jeannie Gresko Memorial Fund, which will help TWRC find a permanent home – one of Jeannie's greatest wishes. All donations to her Memorial Fund will receive a 100% match by Jeannie's family.