Jean Thompson was born August 29, 1929 in Troy, Alabama, to Edgar Chadwick and Georgia Mayers Thompson. On September 17, 1950 she married James Thomas "Trigger" Lake. Together, they had three children. While she worked for the First Farmers and Merchants National Bank in Troy, her avocation was art and her works were shown throughout the Southeast, gaining popularity and winning several awards. Jean Thompson Lake was also known to collect sayings and expressions and after her death in 1976, these were compiled and printed along with some of her paintings in the book, "Seeds to Sow", Troy State University Press, 1984.

In 2003, the festival committee moved the show from the Pike Pioneer Museum grounds to the downtown square. Along with the new location, the festival also took on a new name, TroyFest. The renamed festival was available to the public at no charge for the first time and allowed room for more vendors to participate.

A vendor displays her prize baskets at the Jean Lake Festival (Pioneer Museum)

TroyFest, a festival in memory of Jean Thompson Lake, continues to grow and make changes with each year. In 2005, the committee added antiques and reorganized the festival by separating the fine arts & crafts from commercial merchants, a move that satisfied the need to celebrate the fine arts while allowing the festival to grow and meet the demand of attendees.

Jean Lake continues to be recognized as the namesake of the festival and the exclusive scholarship that is awarded each year to a high school Senior pursuing the arts. Her contributions to our community and to the primitive art world will never be forgotten.