Jeanne Flinn Swanner Robertson (; September 21, 1943 – August 21, 2021) was an American athlete, teacher,

humorist A humorist (American) or humourist (British spelling) is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business e ...

motivational speaker A motivational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep talk. Motivational speakers ca ...

YouTube personality A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influent ...

, and

Miss North Carolina The Miss North Carolina competition selects the representative for the state of North Carolina to compete in the annual Miss America competition. The competition has been held in Raleigh every year since 1978. Prior to that, it was held in vario ...

1963.

Early life

Jeanne Flinn Swanner was born at the

Naval Hospital Boston Naval Hospital Boston was a hospital in Chelsea, Massachusetts. With the closure of the nearby Boston Navy Yard, the hospital closed in 1974. History On January 7, 1836 the Chelsea Naval Hospital was completed and commissioned. Located on a hil ...

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

and raised in

Graham Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, one of three daughters. According to one of her

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

videoclips, not only was she taller than sisters Katherine and Andrea, she was also especially tall as a youth, growing to by age 13. She was an avid basketball player.

Pageant participant

In 1963, at age 19, she was named Miss North Carolina and went on to be named Miss Congeniality in that year's Miss America competition. As of 2021, Jeanne Swanner, at 6 foot 2, is still the tallest contestant ever in the Miss America pageant. Robertson credited her reign as the catalyst for her career. Following her Miss North Carolina reign, Robertson used her scholarship to fund her college education at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

, where she majored in

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

, joined

Alpha Gamma Delta Alpha Gamma Delta (), also known as Alpha Gam, is an international women's fraternity and social organization. It was founded on May 30, 1904, by eleven female students at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, making it the youngest member ...

, and played college basketball. Robertson graduated in 1967, and in 1990 she was inducted as an alumni member of the

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is one of the most prestigious honor societies in the United States with chapters at more than 300 college campuses. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington and Lee University in ...

Circle at Auburn University.

Career

Robertson taught physical education for eight years in North Carolina. Although she began her public speaking career with her pageant title, Robertson achieved much more national attention as a humorist and speaker. Her anecdotes have been broadcast regularly on

satellite radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a ''broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than ter ...

comedy channels, including

XM Radio XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM, Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable televisi ...

's ''

Laugh USA Laugh USA is a Sirius XM Radio channel featuring family comedy and broadcasts on channel 98. The channel's slogan is "Comedy for Everyone." The comedy aired sometimes contains mild profanities and slightly risqué material, and is only very rare ...

'',

Sirius Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launc ...

's '' Blue Collar Comedy'' and its Family Comedy Channel, and '' Laugh Break''. Her popularity soared, however, in 2009 after a handful of humorous clips from her talks became popular

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

s. Robertson distinguished between a humorist, which she considered herself, and a comedian, stating, "The humorist weaves the longer stories with a point. We don't go 'after' anybody. I'm telling my life." In 1980 she was designated a Certified Speaking Professional by the

National Speakers Association The National Speakers Association (NSA) is a US based association that supports motivational and other public speakers. It is the oldest and largest of 13 international associations comprising the Global Speakers Federation. History NSA was fo ...

, and served as the association's president in 1985. She was also a Golden Gavel award-winning

Toastmaster Toastmaster is a general term, prevalent in the United States in the mid-20th century, referring to a person in charge of the proceedings of a public speaking event. The toastmaster is typically charged with organization of the event, arrangin ...

. On April 29, 2008, she spoke at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

for

National Volunteer Week National Volunteer Week is an annual celebration observed in many countries, to promote and show appreciation for volunteerism and volunteering. In the United States, it is organized by the Points of Light Points of Light is an internationa ...

to honor the 1,300 volunteers who donate time to work at the White House.

Honors and awards

*National Speakers Association Speaker Hall of Fame (inducted in 1981) *National Speakers Association Cavett Award (1989); first woman to receive the award *Omicron Delta Kappa (inducted in 1990 as an alumna at Auburn University) *Toastmasters International Golden Gavel Award (1998) *North Carolina Press Association North Carolinian of the Year (2001) Graham Historical Museum, in her hometown of

Graham, North Carolina Graham is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census the population was 17,153. It is the county seat of Alamance County. History ...

, features a permanent exhibit, Jeanne Swanner Robertson.

Personal life

Jeanne married Walter Bowline III in 1965; they had one son and divorced in the early 1970s. In 1974, she married Jerry Robertson, a graduate of

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

where, at tall and on an athletic scholarship, he played on its basketball team, serving as its captain in 1959. Jerry received his master's degree and doctorate at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

; he was an educator and principal, eventually serving as superintendent of Burlington City Schools, and later working in business. In her performances, Jeanne would frequently refer to him as "Left Brain", or sometimes "LB". They were married until his death in June 2021. Robertson's son, Walter Bailey "Beaver" Bowline, is a 1989 graduate of

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, Elon is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or professional doctorate d ...

, where Jeanne was a trustee. Two of Jeanne's grandchildren also attended Elon. Jeanne and Jerry Robertson were both members of Elon University's Phoenix Club, which supports the athletic program, and the university's track and field complex is named after the couple. Robertson was a member of the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

church. She said her favorite television series was ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The ...

''. Her 1995 book, '' Mayberry Humor Across the USA'', furthers her connection to Griffith's show.

Death

On August 12, 2021, it was announced that some of Robertson's future engagements had been canceled due to a "serious but non-

COVID Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

-related" illness. She died at her home in

Burlington, North Carolina Burlington is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance and Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

on August 21, 2021, at age 77.

Books

Robertson authored four books: * ''Humor: The Magic of Genie: Seven Potions for Developing a Sense of Humor'' (1989) Rich Publishing Company, * ''Mayberry Humor Across the USA'' (1995) Rich Publishing Company, * ''Don't Let the Funny Stuff Get Away'' (1998) Rich Publishing Company, * ''Don't Bungee Jump Naked And Other Important Stuff'' (2020) Jeanne Robertson,

Audio and video media

Robertson's performances have been recorded on both DVD and CD, with nine titles currently available: *''Rocking Humor'' *''Fabulously Funny'' *''Looking for Humor'' *''Just for Fun'' *''Flat Out Funny'' *''Southern Style'' *''Talkin' Funny'' *''Not Just for Laughs'' *''Here She Is'' Many short segments of her speeches (individual stories, outtakes, etc) are also available on Jeanne's YouTube channel, as well as recordings of her 2020–2021 livestream series "Live from the Back Porch".

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Jeanne 1943 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American women educators 20th-century American educators 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American women writers American Methodists American YouTubers American beauty pageant winners American humorists American women comedians Auburn University alumni Miss America 1960s delegates Miss North Carolina winners People from Burlington, North Carolina People from Graham, North Carolina Schoolteachers from North Carolina Women humorists