Jean Tsokos is a longtime Wilsonville resident, volunteer and role model for community engagement. With more than 20 years of service to the WilsonvilleSTAGE, formerly known as Wilsonville Community Theater, as well as projects that benefit seniors under her belt, Tsokos recently decided to retire and let the next generation of volunteers take over.
A native of the Midwest, Tsokos, 85, has been a board member, director and acting instructor of Wilsonville Community Theater, trips coordinator and vice chair of Wilsonville Community Seniors, Inc. (WCSI), and advisory member of the SMART task force, representing Wilsonville seniors, through her past as both a theater and education professional. Tsokos’ earned a degree in conservation education with a minor in theater in 1952. While working at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois, she took a job working for Marlin Perkins of Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom,” but more importantly, began her work in community theater, at first simply as a hobby. Soon she was active with the professional children’s theater, which also introduced her to her second husband, Bill Tsokos, a stage manager.
Lots of moves around the Midwest meant that Jean’s involvement in theater was took her across the globe, including Canada, the Cayman Islands and Daytona Beach, Fla., often doing large scale musicals. Her grandson eventually got Jean to move to Oregon in 1989 and she has been an active member of the Wilsonville community since that time.