Burl and Carmelita Jean
For those who have known Burl and Carmelita Jean for any period of time, they know that they are two people who want to be part of “something that will live on for a long time,” as Burl put it. Whether this is through community activities, church involvement, giving through scholarships, or other avenues, Washington County is privileged to be on the receiving end of their generosity.
While, from the outside looking in, it is easy to see the tremendous impact this couple has had in Washington County, Carmelita said, “I’ve done nothing, but I’ve been involved with a lot of things.” As she reflected on their involvement, she simply said, “You can be a part of something, but you can’t do anything by yourself.” As the Jean’s have sewn into their home community through the years, it was always with this humble mindset of giving not to receive, but simply to better Washington County.
Burl Jean was born on June 1, 1934 to Cecil and Gayle (Russell) Jean. He was the second oldest child, with four siblings. As he recalled his childhood, Burl said, “We lived on a farm and were about as poor as you could get.” Growing up was not easy for him and his siblings. When he was about four years old his mother went into a sanitarium after being diagnosed with tuberculosis. “She was in there for almost two years. We would get to see her occasionally, but not often.” When Burl was about six years old, his mother passed away. His father was remarried about two years later in 1942.
Growing up in the Campbellsburg area, Burl went to a small grade school with only one student in the fifth grade and a mere two in the sixth. It was the type of setting where even the teacher, Opal Hogue, rode the school bus in the mornings! He said, “We got our work done” and then “we’d play hard!”
As he got older, Burl’s activities changed from running through the yard and playing ball to helping his grandfather. He had lime trucks and did construction, and around the age of 16, Burl began driving the truck for him. “I thought I was pretty big… But I don’t know why he trusted me!” After graduating in 1952 and spending a short time at college, Burl returned home and began working full time. He landed a job at BF Goodrich in Salem when he was 20 – a job that would become much more than a paycheck later down the road.
However, he was not there long before he was drafted into the Army. In 1956, Burl was stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Not long after, they asked for volunteers to relocate to Korea. He said, “It was so hot and miserable in Louisiana that we all volunteered! But we didn’t know quite what we were asking for.” While he was on leave for Christmas in 1957, he decided to go to a New Years party in town, which is where he officially met Ms. Carmelita Myers. “I always knew who she was because of the local skating rink,” Burl remarked. “But I didn’t know him,” Carmelita replied, laughing. After a couple of dates, Burl had to return to the service for a while longer. However, being rather smitten with her, he kept in touch with Carmelita through letters until he returned.
Carmelita was the only child of Wilmar and Marjorie Myers. Her father was also a farmer in Washington County. Although she did not have any siblings like Burl, she was pleased with her childhood and said, “Me and the cat got along just fine.”
Though she was ill many times throughout her childhood, and, once, even quarantined because of it, she still managed to find the greater joys in life. At school, she greatly enjoyed math. One of her teachers, Mr. William Martin, stuck out in her mind. “I didn’t like him at the time,” she said. “But I learned to respect and love what he did for the kids.” Once she graduated from high school, she attended the Spencerian Business School to study for her accounting certificate.
Upon leaving Spencerian, she began working at Hannah Motors Oldsmobile on 4th and Breckenridge in Louisville, quite a ways from her small hometown. She recalled the humorous beginnings of her new job. “I was going down the street for my interview and I had a blue wool dress on. It started raining and it poured. But I went ahead and marched in there. The boss told me later: “I just had to hire you because anybody who didn’t know how to get out of the rain needed help!”
After working there and another job for a few years, Carmelita was able to stop working full-time to become a housewife and active community member. Burl returned from Korea in 1958 and they were married in October of 1959 at the High Street Church of Christ in Salem. Nine years later, they welcomed their first daughter, Jennifer Sue, followed by Allison in 1973. Carmelita enjoyed being able to raise her daughters in the same home that she grew up in.
Throughout the time their girls were growing, Burl continued to work at BF Goodrich and operate the family farms at the same time. Carmelita always enjoyed being home to teach her children and volunteer in the community. In 1982, the BF Goodrich plant closed down and the owners decided to sell the business. Burl remembered clearly, “I had worked there for 27 years and when they closed it down, I saw it as an opportunity to do what I wanted to do.” He was the last one out when they closed it down, and had filled just about every spot in the business, so he knew it well. He said, after he got the formalities taken care of, “We finally found a lady in Louisville to lend us the money” to get it running again, “And I still don’t know why.”
From that moment on, through lots of hard work and dedication, Burl was able to build his own business, Jean’s Extrusions. His success came as no surprise to those who knew him, though. He was notorious for hard work. He said, “I always told my daughters, I expect people to have two jobs.” To Burl, it was important for people to understand the value of hard work and providing for their families – ideas that he integrated into his business and with his employees.
Carmelita has always supported these ideas strongly. She said that her high school class motto – “Good, better, best – never settle until your good is better and your better is best” – always stuck with her in all of her efforts. One place that she portrayed this spirit of excellence was in her community involvement. She taught Awareness Washington County for 15 years, helping sow seeds of servant leadership in the community. She said one project that she enjoyed greatly was the redoing of the Crown Hill cemetery, bringing it to its original beauty again for the history of the county. She’s also headed up many American Cancer drives in the Salem area. But ultimately, she feels like she owes it to the people in the community for all they have allowed her to be involved in.
Burl was always alongside Carmelita in her community efforts. He helped establish the Washington County Community Foundation at its conception as “one of the original three around the table.” Extremely proud of that work, he said it is “something that will live on for a long time.”
If one does not recognize Burl and Carmelita for their community involvement, there is still another way that they probably have come in contact. Many years ago, several community members, including the Jeans, came together and bought multiple buildings on the Salem square. Burl said, after the group dismantled, they ended up with three of those buildings. Following their dream to create a “destination location” in Salem, Burl and Carmelita took over Christie’s Restaurant on the square and built up other stores around it. Carmelita commented about how, challenging at first, it became a wonderful asset to the community and another way to connect with people. Now, people come from all over the state and elsewhere to visit the quaint location in Salem.
Amidst their many accomplishments and activities, Burl and Carmelita Jean still have one more area that is critical in their life: their faith. Carmelita said that, although she didn’t go to church until she was about 17, the thing she wanted most for her children was to be exposed to the love of God. She said of her experience, “I knew when I was baptized that I was going to live my life the best I knew how to make it to heaven. I’m glad I wasn’t programmed into a church, because my faith is my own.” Through her weekly home Bible study and church involvement at Southern Hills, she always tried to pass those beliefs along to others, as well. Burl, unlike Carmelita, was raised going to church faithfully. Because of this, he, too, was strongly rooted. Later in life, he served as a shepherd at Southern Hills and even helped build the church. They love their church family dearly.
On the occasion that they are not busy within their own community, Burl and Carmelita enjoyed visiting other places. Thinking back to travel scrapbooks that he used to look through when he was younger, Burl said, “I never thought I would see any of those places at that age.” But now, he and his family have had the opportunity to see most of the national parks and travel to Europe, among other places with his career and military service. Carmelita said, “We’ve travelled a lot and I’m thankful I’ve got to see a lot of things. But I feel like my ministry, life, and family is here.” They have never wanted to live anywhere else than Washington County. It is home.
As they settled into the later stages of their lives, Burl and Carmelita knew that, because Washington County was their home, they had to do something to leave a lasting impression. Burl said, “About everything good that happens here, the Community Foundation is involved in.” With so many areas that people can be involved in and ways to give back, there is simply “nothing like the Foundation.”
The Jeans set up several funds with the Washington County Community Foundation in order to give back. Because of their generosity, many causes in Washington County will be forever blessed. Whether it is through their giving back to Riley’s Place, the Women’s Giving Circle, student scholarships, or elsewhere, Burl and Carmelita Jean will be a blessing for good, forever, in Washington County.
