Jean Goodsell Clausen, 99, died peacefully at home, overlooking her beloved Wisconsin River, in the care of her children on November 21, 2014. Jean was born the daughter of Charles Glen Goodsell and Jesse Lake Goodsell on August 11, 1915 in Kenosha Wisconsin. She grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan. She attended De Pauw University in Indiana for one year and then finished a social work degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. There she met a dashing medical student, Norman Martin Clausen. They married in August of 1939. After WWII, which found them on Navy assignments on both coasts, she settled down to the life of a doctor's wife and mother in Madison. They had four children, and Jean's father also lived with them. Those years were highlighted by many family camping, canoe and ski trips around Wisconsin, which passed on her love of nature to her children. Their home was host to international students from Vienna and Zurich, and a warm local family connection for University students from around the globe. As the last child headed off for school, Jean took up a freelance writing career. She was published in over 100 publications and wrote two books. Upon Norm's retirement they moved to Endlichheim, their "final home" on the Wisconsin River in northwest Dane County. Jean was a woman of strong faith and was an active member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Madison, and Concordia United Methodist Church in Prairie du Sac. She was involved in many organizations over the years, including PEO Chapter BL, Madison; as a leader in the Boy and Girl Scouts; and as a founding member of the Ferry Bluff Eagle Council. She and Norm sold the first scenic easement on the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway to the DNR in 1989. She volunteered for Meals on wheels, the Medical Auxiliaries of Madison and Sauk Prairie, Maplewood, and as editor of The Badger Doctor's Wife magazine. It was her deep love of the river valley that prompted her to begin her column From the Riverbank for the Sauk Prairie Star in 1975, which she continued until September, 2014. In their retirement years she and Norm traveled widely, visiting friends and family across the country and in Europe. Jean had a great gift for friendship. She was loved for her awe of the natural world, curiosity, sense of adventure, even temperament, intelligence, creativity, loyalty, and dry wit. The grace with which she navigated the last difficult years of her life has been a model for many of her friends. As one of her sons-in-law's put it, "she was a mentor to practically everyone." In addition to her parents, Jean was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years. She is survived by her children Karen (Thomas) Schilke, Curt (Sally) Clausen, Kristin (Barry Delin) Clausen, and Juliana (Richard Van Koningsveld) Clausen; her grandchildren Peter (Tori), Aaron (Laura), Christy and Jim Schilke and David (Lily), Anna, and Andy Clausen; and great-grandchildren Noah, Taylor, Kinsey and Tristan Schilke and Henry Clausen. In lieu of flowers, the family invites friends to give donations in Jean's name to one of the following: The Ferry Bluff Eagle Council, Raptor Education Group, Inc., Madison Audubon, or Concordia United Methodist Church of Prairie du Sac. A celebration of her life is planned for 1 p.m. on January 18, 2015 at Concordia United Methodist Church.