Jean DeGraw, long-time Vevay resident, passed away in her sleep on Oct. 4 in Chico, California.

Jean “Jeanie” was an avid horse lover and shared that love with her daughter, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

She was a “Trailblazer” for Women in the Casino Industry moving into positions of responsibility throughout her career almost exclusively held by men. Her career spanned almost 50 years training, educating and mentoring new dealers, supervisors and managers within the industry.

She began her career in gaming in her early 20s as a casino dealer at a truck stop outside of Reno, Nevada.

In the late 1970’s she went to Atlantic City to help train dealers for new careers in gaming and ascended to the position of pit boss, a position almost entirely held by men up until that time, at the opening of The Playboy Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Jeanie rose to the position of shift manager at the opening of the new casino in Rising Sun, Indiana. She also worked in Las Vegas, Reno, Lake Tahoe, Peoria Illinois, Harrison County, Indiana, and Lawrenceburg, Indiana, where she ultimately retired.

She retired at the end of her career to a small but peaceful farm where she enjoyed the company of her many animals including a thoroughbred horse she named Baby. She lived in Vevay, Indiana, for 14 years after retiring until her health forced her to move away, an outcome she never approved of.

Her only child, Lurleen “Jill” Tidball, preceded her in death in 2016, but she was blessed with four surviving grandchildren, Michelle, Kristen, Katie and Sean and four great-grandchildren Addison, Jaxson, Kayden, and Kason.