Jane (Ludlow) Bowne, 94, died September 29, 2018 at her home in Northampton, MA with family members at her side after a brief period of declining health. She was under the extraordinary care of the Hospice of the Fisher Home of Amherst, MA.
Jane was born on March 9, 1924 in Sea Cliff, LI, NY to Charles E. and Jane N. Ludlow, attended local public schools and graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1945.
In 1946 she married Sidney B. Bowne, Jr. of Glen Cove, who predeceased her in 1985. They purchased, in her words, “a wreck of a house” overlooking Mill Neck Creek in Bayville, LI which they worked on night and day, turning it into a great place to spend a childhood for their three children, Mary Bowne Brandt, who predeceased her in 2018, John Sidney Bowne and Peter Underhill Bowne. Her years in Bayville were filled with kids, cats, boats, family and a myriad of family, school and volunteer activities. She was a whiz at a variety of crafts from knitting and needlework to rugs both hooked and braided. She maintained gorgeous perennial gardens wherever she lived and was always willing to try a recipe at least once.
In the 1960s they built a vacation home on Harbour Island, The Bahamas, which was enjoyed by family and friends for many years.
In 1970 she and Sid took on another project – a ramshackle place in Perkinsville, Vermont which became a vacation getaway and, in 1981, their primary residence. In Vermont she continued to work to improve the community, volunteering at the Wethersfield Historical Society’s semi-annual Frippery Sale, the Weathersfield-Proctor Library in Ascutney and the annual Five-College Book Sale, to name but a few. She expanded her circle of friends while staying in touch with lifelong friends going back to kindergarten.
Following Sid’s death in 1985 she maintained her adamantly independent lifestyle in Vermont while also fulfilling her dream of traveling to the corners of the world – Europe, Asia, South America and Africa – with small groups and family over the next 10 years.
In 2005, as a minor concession to her age, she began spending the colder months at the Lathrop Community in Northampton where she quickly acquired a new group of friends and a calendar filled with volunteer and social activities. She took great advantage of the cultural life of the Five-College area and yes, maintained a seasonal garden as well.
Her family, friends and neighbors knew her as passionate and compassionate, an eternally realistic optimist who was quick to offer a lift to the store or to a doctor’s appointment and who could always spot the silver lining while never losing sight of the cloud. She is sorely missed for her loyalty, kindness, optimistic outlook, good humor and thoughtfully considered advice born of experience.
Jane is survived, and missed, by sons John and wife Jeanne of South Venice FL, and Peter and partner John Civilinski of Jamaica Plain, MA., as well as Mary’s husband, E. Michael Brandt of Portland, OR and their three sons – Eli and wife Katy King and children Adam and Meredith of Seattle, Joshua and wife Brooke and children Elliot and Jane of Portland, and Oliver and wife Madeline, also of Portland.
Per her specific directions, Jane was cremated and no service will be held. Donations in her name can be made to the Hospice of the Fisher Home (fisherhome.org) or Vermont Public Radio (vpr.net).