On August 9, 2017, Jean McIntyre Banks, 96, passed away peacefully in her home in Midland. Jean was born in Denver, Colorado on May 22, 1921. Shortly after her birth, she and her parents, Paul J. and Alice M. McIntyre, moved first to Bartlesville and later to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where her brother, Bruce M. McIntyre, was born and where she grew up. Jean attended Holland Hall School in Tulsa and Wellesley College in Massachusetts. In 1953, she married R.C. “Buzzy” Banks and moved to Midland.In 1955, after training with Arthur Murray, she, with the assistance of Madelaine Pomeroy, started the first ballroom dancing school for 6th, 7th and 8th graders in Midland. Later, she was assisted by her husband Buzzy. For more than 8 years, Jean taught hundreds of Midlanders not only how to ballroom dance, but also how to make introductions, treat a partner, and other aspects of dancing “manners”. Her school helped “civilize” young Midlanders, including George W. Bush. Before marrying Buzzy, Jean was a model for a Tulsa department store and had excellent fashion sense. After she closed the dancing school, she followed her interest in women’s clothing and served as the regional representative for Doncaster in West Texas.Jean was active in the Junior League, Midland Country Club, the Racquet Club and the First Presbyterian Church of Midland. She loved to travel, especially when it involved trout fishing, camping, skiing, tennis or golf. For more than 50 years, she and her family spent skiing vacations in Aspen, Colorado and she and Buzzy skied throughout Europe. They were members of Eldorado Country Club in California, where they avidly played golf. They participated as “ambassadors” in Person to Person Tennis playing in five European countries. While Jean was an avid and talented athlete, most of all she loved meeting new people, as any of her friends would attest. She was outgoing, open and friendly, and in their travels around the world, she and Buzzy made many lifelong friends. However, they always returned to Midland where she loved entertaining their many friends.She is survived by her husband, Buzzy Banks; two sons, Charles Gilbert and Richard Banks; daughter, Ann Gilbert Wylie; her brother; seven grandchildren; three great grandchildren; and caregiver, Mary Peña.Memorial services will be held on Monday, August 14, 2017 at 11:00AM at First Presbyterian Church in Midland.,
