Raven Vieux-Jeanton Obituary

Raven Vieux-Jeanton MILL VALLEY, CA - Raven Vieux-Jeanton (nee Margaret Rose (Peggy) James) of Mill Valley, California, died peacefully at home on Friday, November 2, 2012, in the loving care of her beloved husband, Philippe Vieux-Jeanton, and her devoted caregivers from Hospice on the Bay. In addition to her husband Philippe and mother-in-law, Madeleine Vieux-Jeanton of Freterive, Savoie France, Raven is survived by her mother, Margaret Mahoney James, two brothers, Donny James and Billy James, a sister, Mary Hayes, and many beloved nieces and nephews. A Roman Catholic Mass of Christian Burial at Christ Our King Catholic Church and internment at St. Lawrence Cemetery will be held for family and friends at a later date. Raven was preceded in death by her sister Kathyrn James Miller and father, John Donald James A brilliant poet, writer, progressive activist, and innkeeper, Raven devoted her life to the pursuits of peace, justice, beauty, and kindness. She often travelled and collaborated with her husband Philippe, adding text in harmony with his photographs. An accomplished chef and gifted hostess, she shared freely with so many her low country recipes and gracious Southern hospitality, lessons happily learned from her childhood in Charleston South Carolina. Raven's professional accomplishments include many years of organizational development and workforce training in commercial banking, and she was an admired educator and instructor in the English language for non-native speakers; however, her lifelong focus was on working to assist the battered and abused. Raven continued her activism as Executive Director of the Network of East-West Women while she lived briefly in Washington, D.C. With her former partner, Catherine Toth, Raven co-founded Emerge International in Budapest Hungary. As Co-Managing Director, she was responsible for non-profit economic and social development projects in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia; specifically in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Romania, Russia, and Tajikistan. At the time of her sudden cancer diagnosis (July 2012), Raven was working in Marin California with the Center for Domestic Peace and their transitional housing program. Her goal was to create a volunteer-based tutoring program and homework club program for the children, develop a career center hub; and network with private sector companies to facilitate partnership. Despite the acute onset of terminal pancreatic cancer, she successfully created the foundation to achieve these goals. Raven Vieux-Jeanton led a life of great kindness, uncompromising in her convictions and commitment to others. Her charitable work was lifelong. As she said, "It's all about the love." In lieu of flowers, contributions to Hospice on the Bay http://www.hospicebythebay.org/, the Center for Domestic Peace http://www.maws.org/, and/or the San Francisco LGTB Community Center http://www.sfcenter.org/the-center are welcomed. Visit our guestbook at www.legacy.com/obituaries/ charleston