Jeanne Krull Cherneff, 97, passed away March 14, 2018, at Geer Nursing in Canaan, Connecticut.

Jeanne was born in her parents’ home in Brooklyn, New York, but, since the home was later torn down to build a department store, Jeanne would always say that she was born “in Macy’s window.” After receiving a degree from Hunter College, she married Robert Cherneff in 1943; raised four sons in Mount Vernon and Chappaqua, New York; and opened an antiques business in Pound Ridge, New York. Bob and Jeanne moved to Ashley Falls, Massachusetts, in 1978, where Jeanne ran the Ashley Falls Antiques store for more than 30 years. Jeanne had a broad knowledge and expertise in many fields, particularly antique jewelry and furniture, and became known as the “Button Lady” for her enormous collection of vintage and antique buttons. She loved nature, could recognize all of the local birds by their songs, and had an uncanny ability to find four-leaf clovers. Known by her family as “Mod,” she spent the last 14 years of her life as a resident of Geer Village.
Jeanne was predeceased by her husband, Bob. She is survived by four sons and their spouses: Peter Cherneff and Hester Velmans of Sheffield, Massachusetts, Greg Cherneff and Martha Larrabee of Littleton, Massachusetts, Daniel Cherneff and Priscilla Cobb of Belmont, Massachusetts, and Jonathan Cherneff and Rosanne Somerson of Little Compton, Rhode Island. She was the proud and much-loved grandmother of seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
The family is planning an informal remembrance of Mod Saturday, April 7, in Sheffield. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory can be made to the Sheffield Land Trust’s Ashley Falls Woods project or to Mass Audobon’s Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary.