Jean Louise Balliet was born in Allentown, PA, in 1953, to Conrad and Marion Balliet. She spent most of her childhood and adolescence in Springfield, Ohio, graduating from North High School in 1971. She received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in landscape architecture from the University of Michigan. She went to Taiwan to learn Chinese and to do research for her master’s thesis, and returned with a husband, Victor Chao, as well. They have one child, Clara June, now a junior at Michigan State. Even as a child, Jean appeared different, independent, eccentric—a loner and a genius. She said, herself, that she marched to her own drummer. On family camping trips in the 1960s she fell in love with New Mexico: the wide sky, the daunting mountains, the mixed culture, and some deep vibrations from the universe itself. After her divorce, she moved from Ann Arbor to Taos where, for the first time in her life, she felt accepted. She worked in landscaping most of her life, with her "Magic Garden" in Ann Arbor, and as "Stone Madre" in Taos. Her unconventional and earth-based attitudes moved her away from western medicine and toward Chinese, herbal, and natural approaches to illness. She developed cancer in her mid-fifties, and followed her beliefs about treatment by choosing not to accept chemo or surgery. She maintained her high positive spirit and love of music until her death on October 11, 2010. She honored the living planet with her beloved stonework, unique cats and a passion for dance and acoustic music. She lives on in her daughter Clara June, and is also survived by her siblings Eddie, Karen, and Paul, and her father Conrad. The family feels deep gratitude for the many care givers and friends in Taos who eased her suffering and dying.