By Sara Beth Williams–
Dozens of local community members gathered together to honor the late co-founder of the Citrus Heights Veterans Community Center during a memorial service on Saturday, Sept. 27, following her death on Aug. 10.
Jeannette Therasa Behl Rounsavell helped found the Veterans Community Center with her second late husband Jim Rounsavell in 2013. Jeannette Rounsavell, known to everyone as Jeanne, was 86.
Veterans, old friends, neighbors, and community leaders spoke of Rounsavell’s positive impact on their lives through her compassionate acceptance, and even her no-nonsense nature. Many veterans, like US Army veteran Geno Bartucco called Rounsavell “Mom.” Others talked about how much she loved singing karaoke, and loved visiting the center whenever possible, even when her health was failing.
Rounsavell was born on Aug. 10, 1939, in Camden County, New Jersey and was very close to her mother and Irish grandmother. Rounsavell spent her childhood playing on the Jersey shoreline and attended Catholic school. She became employed as a teen and didn’t finish high school until she was in her 30s, working as a waitress for many years, according to her bio. Later she worked as a tourist representative.
Rounsavell had a lifelong passion and love for animals and owned many pets throughout her life. Rounsavell was also a collector of various collections, said Veterans Community Center president Michelle Grant who was a close friend of Rounsavell and the executor of her estate. Grant said every inch of wall space and shelf space held photographs, mementos, and a myriad of other items.
Rounsavell was fascinated with Japanese culture and art, from her many years spent living in Japan with her first husband, who served in the military and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan in the 1960s. Over the years, Rounsavell kept an “enormous” collection of Japanese and other Asian artwork, figurines, dishware, and keepsakes, her bio says.
Dozens of personal items lined a memorial table at the front of the podium during the memorial service, including a San Francisco 49ers blanket, a stuffed Mickey Mouse, and multiple photographs from Rounsavell’s life.
Rounsavell’s first marriage ended due to the strain of living a solitary life as a military wife and other factors, according to her bio. Despite the strain the separation caused between her and her three children, Rounsavell kept photos, documentation, and keepsakes of her children’s accomplishments over the years.
Rounsavell met her second husband in 1987, and though they were both going through life hurdles at the time, they were drawn to each other, married, and shared 34 years together before his passing.
Jim and Jeanne Rounsavell shared a mutual love of music, dance, travel, animals, food and drink, politics, business, social networking, and entertaining. The two also shared a love of servitude toward others, as Jeanne supported Jim in his efforts to launch a Veterans Golf Park for Disabled Vets to help veterans cope with PTSD through golf therapy. Jeanne inspired and pushed for the establishment of a community center where veterans could come together and socialize.
Since its establishment in 2013, the veterans community center has served veterans through multiple lunches, karaoke nights, free concerts, veterans workshops, and more, and has drawn together a community of veterans that has become an ever-growing family. The Rounsavells and the center also welcomed wives and family members of veterans into the fold, even if they weren’t veterans themselves, according to multiple testimonies from widows and veterans’ children, given during the memorial service.
In an interview with The Sentinel last year, Rounsavell said many of the veterans who frequented the center would dote on her, calling her “Mom” and bringing her food due to her limited mobility. The nickname was coined due to her authority over the center and no-nonsense disciplinary nature, combined with her compassion toward everyone, Bartucco said.
Over the phone in 2024, Rounsavell expressed pride in operating a veterans center that was all-volunteer-based and that did not receive any state or government funding. All funding is raised through various annual events, such as the annual Luau barbecue dinner.
Grant said the center is here to stay and will continue to serve the veterans community as it always has. Grant also hopes to add more events to its lineup in the new year.
Rounsavell is survived by three adult children and two grandchildren with her first husband and four stepchildren and seven step-grandchildren with her late second husband.
