I can’t believe that it’s already June and that summer is officially about to begin!

Jeanne Bice celebrated every day and every season of the year – but I know that she particularly loved summertime because it meant that Quackers all over the good old US of A could enjoy some of the sunshine she enjoyed all year round in Florida.  She also loved celebrating the summer holidays of Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day.  These holidays provided more wonderful excuses for Jeanne to redecorate her entire house and to share her sunny disposition with all of her friends around her pool, and in her gorgeous kitchen.

It’s hard to believe that this month marks 8 years since our beloved Jeanne joined the angels in heaven.  There is not a single day that passes by when I don’t think of her and all of the joy she brought to each of us.  Like all of you, I miss her madly and wish that I could magically make her appear on TV again so that we could invite her into our living rooms just one more time.  Her laugh was infectious and that smile of hers could light up an entire city.  And those expressions and comments she could come up with had us all rolling on the floor often times!  She was certainly an original!!!

I wanted to share with you some of the pictures of Jeanne that you might not have ever seen.  When I look at all of these, my heart fills with joy and happiness.

Here’s a picture of Jeanne when she was just a baby.   This was taken in 1939.  As Jeanne herself would say – “How stinking cute” is that?!  I particularly LOVE her hairstyle – perfect in every way.


 

And here’s another picture you might not have seen when Jeanne was just a little girl.  How adorable is that?!   It’s certainly no wonder that she grew up to be the Queen of TV Shopping!

But I have to tell you that this next picture is one of my favorites.  You can tell that Jeanne was entering womanhood.  She is absolutely stunning in this picture – and you can really tell that fashion and style meant a lot to her – and that her destiny was already taking shape.

One of my favorite memories of Jeanne is that she certainly had a way with words.  You never knew what she was likely to say next – or how she would express it!  As she wrote in ‘Pull Yourself Up by Your Bra Straps’- “I have always had a BIG MOUTH.  My husband (Butch) used to say I was the only woman he knew with calluses on both ankles from putting my foot in my mouth so often!”

Here’s a picture of Jeanne and Butch on their wedding day in June 1959 – what a beautiful couple they were.

They spent 22 wonderful years married before Butch passed away – and during that time they brought two beautiful children into the world.

After Butch’s passing, Jeanne packed up the car and took Tim and Lee to Florida where they would begin their new life with a fresh start.   And boy, what an amazing journey and fresh start it was going to be!

As we all know, Jeanne started designing and making her fun, happy, whimsical and distinctive line of clothing at this time and was selling them at local flea markets and boutiques.  It was also at this time that Quacker Factory got its name.  One day she was having a particularly hectic day when her son Tim walked in and heard her say: “This business is driving me quackers!”  Tim exclaimed, “Mom, that’s it!  We’re the Quacker Factory!”

Here’s a picture of Jeanne working her magic at one of those flea markets with some of the 1st ever Quacker Factory items.  You can see that she was already wearing one of her signature headbands at that time:

It was shortly afterwards in 1993 or 1994 that Jeanne happened to find QVC on her television.  She watched a while and said “I can do that!”  And as we all know, the rest is history!  Jeanne and her clothing won the 50-50 tour and we were blessed to watch her on our screens for over 16 glorious years!   As she always said, she couldn’t have done it without Tim and Lee.  Here’s one of my favorite photos of the three of them – what a beautiful family:

And lookie here – here’s a picture of Jeanne on her first appearance on QVC!!!  Does anyone know who that is with her?!

And here’s a picture of Jeanne in her favorite DreamJeanne design that she brought to QVC – the Leggings style.  This was taken in the fall of 2010.  Doesn’t she look Quack-Tabulous in her DreamJeannes?!

Of course, my favorite picture of all time is this one of Jeanne and me on the 2006 Quacker Cruise.  Two days after the cruise, Jeanne called me in London to say that she had enjoyed meeting me and spending the week together on the cruise – and she told me that she wanted me to go on air for her in the UK on QVC and represent Quacker Factory.  As you can imagine, I was in shock!  Her dream of having me on QVC didn’t happen until after she passed, but I know that she knows, and is watching from heaven – and that makes me smile from ear to ear.  Angel and I always say to each other that it’s pretty amazing that Jeanne asked and chose us both to carry on her dream – we both think we’re probably the luckiest two people in the world – and we are so grateful that each of you has welcomed us into your life’s as well.  Thank you for the bottom of our hearts for this – it is quite an honor to be able to continue Jeanne’s legacy.

Whenever I begin to feel just a little bit sad that Jeanne has left us, I close my eyes and imagine what heaven looks like now that she is there.  Can you just imagine what she did when she arrived – you KNOW that she designed every angel new embellished and super sparkly wings with more bling on them then heaven has ever seen!!!!  I sure do wish they gave out one-day visitor passes to heaven – because I would love to see what our Jeanne has created up there!!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful start to your summer.  And when you wake up each day, remember what Jeanne said:

“Love yourself as you are right this moment.  Look for all the good about and love it- love it lots!”

Quacker Hugs & Love From Across The Pond,

Patrick

To stay up to date at what’s Quackin at the Quacker Factory, join the email list! Click Here to sign up to receive emails from Quacker Factory.

To follow Quacker Factory on Facebook with Angel and Patrick, Click Here.