GAIL WHITE Woman remembered for the way she whistled like a songbird

Her obituary ran on the top of Page B3 on May 17, two days after Jeanne Hum, 73, of Poland died of complications from leukemia.
An elegant picture was placed at the top of the tribute with four inches of words, summarizing the events of Jeanne's life.
There is never enough space or words to describe a person's life. Jeanne's obituary was no different. It mentioned her family and background and concluded with information for friends and family of where and when to call.
In between the history and details is the legacy of Jeanne Hum, summarized in an inch and a half of print.
"Mrs. Hum was an internationally famous whistler of classical and contemporary music. She whistled in motion pictures and had many television, radio, newspaper and magazine credits in England, Canada, Sweden and throughout the United States. She won seven awards for her whistling in England and the U.S. and had created and produced two recordings."
Jeanne Hum whistled.
Heavenly whistling
When I sat down to listen to Jeanne's recordings, I didn't know what to expect. I've been known to whistle a tune or two, and I anticipated a somewhat more in-tune version.
I could not have been more wrong.
The piano prelude opened to "Stormy Weather," and Jeanne began to whistle. For a moment, I looked outside, thinking I was hearing a bird. In another instant, I realized it was Jeanne.
As she softly, melodiously whistled the tune, I envisioned a beautiful bird of paradise. Truly, this woman had a heavenly whistle.
"You can cheat any way you want in recording studios, but I don't do it that way," Jeanne is quoted as saying in a 1994 interview. "Everything you hear is just me doing it for love."
The love comes through with every wistful blow.
"I look at it this way -- everybody has something ... I have lips," Jeanne said in 1994.
Jeanne discovered her lips early in life.
"She followed a guy around who whistled all day while he worked in a parking lot next to where they lived," said Jeanne's husband, Robert, recalling the beginning of Jeanne's talent.
Jeanne's parents, Charles and Viola Kuhns, recognizing her daughter's talent, began taking her to performances around town.
Sharing her love
She performed in front of local Kiwanis clubs, Rotary clubs and various business events. She then traveled to Pittsburgh and Cleveland, whistling on radio shows.
Barbara Chismar, a lifelong friend of Jeanne's, remembers a nun at Ursuline High School who disapproved of Jeanne's whistling. The nun believed that a young lady whistling offended the Blessed Mother Mary.
"That broke her to pieces," Barbara said, remembering.
A talk with the principal had Jeanne out whistling at public performances again.
It was a performance at Club Sahara, a dry nightclub for high school and college students in downtown Youngstown, that turned Jeanne into a whistling Hum.
"I was going to Youngstown College," Robert said. "Some of us guys piddled around in show business. The owner of the Club Sahara asked us to find talent and put on shows."
One night, a sweet, pretty young lady showed up with a whistling act.
"I auditioned her for the show," Robert said, laughing. Little did either know, the audition was for life.
On May 28, 1949, Robert and Jeanne were married at St. Columba Cathedral in Youngstown by Monsignor Thomas Kelly. Nearly 54 years later, on May 19, 2003, Monsignor Kelly presided over Jeanne's funeral Mass in St. Patrick Church.
The songbird went to paradise.
Four inches of words just doesn't seem a just tribute to a person's life. In Jeanne's case, it didn't matter. No words can describe the way Jeanne Hum whistled.
gwhite@vindy.com