Jean S. Challis-DeGaytan, nee Bailey, 93, of Lansdale, PA, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Thursday, June 11, 2026, in Dock Terrace Nursing Home.

Jean was born in Sheffield, England, to the late Clifford Horace Bailey and Annie Winifred Colley, nee Davidson, on December 20, 1932. Jean’s childhood memories were very much influenced by the impact of World War II throughout England and the bombings conducted on major British cities during that time. Jean completed her primary education in Sheffield, England, in 1948 and then went on to become an accomplished ballroom dancer, appearing in many competitions in and around the area where she grew up. In the mid-1950s, awestruck by the desire to visit America and eschewing the conventional path most British women of her time followed, she and a girlfriend daringly set off on an adventure of a lifetime: an extended visit to the United States of America.

After arriving by ocean liner, Jean soon settled in the Philadelphia area, met and married the late Bernard Dominic DeGaytan, and bore two children. Some of Jean’s fondest memories were of her time raising her children with “Bernie” in the idyllic enclave of Broad Axe just outside of Ambler, PA, in the 1960s and 1970s.

That period of time also brought some heartbreak due to the sudden and unexpected loss of her beloved husband, Bernie. Later, Jean remarried the late George Challis and maintained residences in the Poconos; Green Lane, PA; Skippack, PA; Vero Beach, FL; and Chandler, AZ, before returning to PA for her final years.

Jean worked as a vendor representative for Dorothy Bullits, a renowned Philadelphia women’s fashion store in the 1970s, followed by several years employed as a vendor representative for both the Better Business Bureau and Monsanto Corporation (Carpet Division) in the 1980s and 1990s.

After retiring, Jean spent several years in Vero Beach, FL, where she successfully completed the Florida Master Naturalist Program through the University of Florida and subsequently led visitors and tourists on wetlands nature tours throughout the Treasure Coast region of Florida. Jean also traveled extensively to many exotic locations both within the US and abroad. She had many varied interests and hobbies that she learned in all stages of her life from becoming an accomplished skier, to developing her talent in drawing and painting by taking classes. Jean continued cultivating different hobbies and interests in later life from learning how to golf, to learning in depth about the birds and wildlife that inhabited all the areas in which she lived. She was an avid bird watcher. Most importantly, Jean liked to have fun. There was not an activity she would not try nor a place she would not consider moving to. Her sense of adventure and fun and her esprit de vivre will be sorely missed.

Jean is survived by her son Mark DeGaytan, Mesa, AZ, daughter Janet DeGaytan, Harleysville, PA, special daughter-in-law, Catherine Colvin DeGaytan, Mesa, AZ; dear and special niece, Janette Bailey, Woodbridge, UK; grandson, Nathan Bailey, Alexandria VA; granddaughters, Bailey Ritchey, East Freedom, PA and Cassie Detwiler, Claysburg, PA; great grandsons James Ritchey, Henry Ritchey, and Mathias Ritchey, East Freedom, PA; and great granddaughter Anastasia Detwiler, Claysburg, PA.

Jean is preceded in death by parents, Clifford Horace Bailey and Annie Winifred Colley, nee Davidson; her dearly beloved brother, David Bailey; first husband and the love of her life, Bernard DeGaytan; second husband, George Challis; and dear nephew, Alan Bailey.

Funeral service will be held privately with the family.

Memorial contributions in Jean’s name may be made to Living Branches Foundation - Dock Woods – Skilled Nursing 275 Dock Drive Lansdale, 19446. The family wishes to extend their gratitude to the wonderful staff of Dock Woods, and especially the nurses who cared for Jean in the Skilled Nursing wing of Dock Woods.