BRUNSWICK, ME — Jane M. Ross, 95, formerly of Lebanon, passed away in Brunswick, Maine on April 23, 2020. Jane was born to Mildred and Walter Mitchell in Haddonfield, New Jersey in 1925. After graduating from high school in 1942, she attended Bowling Green State University in Ohio, where she was a member of Alpha Phi sorority and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1946.
She was married to Robert T. Ross of Haddon Heights, New Jersey from 1949-1971. In 1960, they and their sons, Mitchell and Carr, moved from Haddonfield to Lebanon.
Jane worked at the Lebanon Elementary School from the early 1960s until 1985, initially as a teacher then, after receiving a Master of Education degree from the University of New Hampshire, as the elementary guidance counselor for the school district.
During and after her work in the Lebanon School District, Jane directed semester abroad programs in England, Ireland, and Australia for the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont.
Over her lifetime, Jane volunteered for many organizations and political campaigns. Counted among these are her work at the Passamaquoddy Indian Reservation school in Eastport, Maine and as a Buddhist study volunteer at the New Hampshire State Prison in Berlin.
Her love of children and passion for education, along with her curiosity and compassion, led her along many paths and to lifelong friendships. Jane was an intrepid explorer who often shared her spirit of adventure with her two grandsons as companions: Michael, who predeceased her, and Christopher.
She is survived by grandson Christopher Ross and his wife Liz Murray of Enfield; sons Mitchell Ross and his wife Cathy of Lebanon, and Carr Ross and his wife Eileen MacAdam of Woolwich, Maine; cousin Susan Russell Kraatz and her husband Michael Kraatz of Canaan.
Donations to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Alzheimer’s Association, or Lebanon Public Library are suggested ways to commemorate this extraordinary woman.
Jane’s family will celebrate her life formally when circumstances allow.