Jane A Southworth, 82, longtime, beloved and hearty Brattleboro, VT resident, died September 2, 2023 of complications from pneumonia at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, CT.

A lover of music, history, libraries and canines, Jane was born January 29, 1941 in Lakewood, Ohio, near the town of Rocky River, where she grew up the dearly loved only child of parents Ross and Marguerite Ashbrook.

Jane’s heartfelt love of New England was sparked when she attended Mt. Holyoke College, earning a BA in English History. Jane, who rarely met a book she didn’t cherish, selected Mt. Holyoke upon seeing its voluminous library for the first time.

Her deep appreciation for libraries was lifelong; she served nine years on the Brooks Memorial Library Board of Trustees and at the time of her death was, according to Library Director Starr Latronica, “a pillar of the Buildings and Grounds Committee”.

Jane was a student of Medieval and English history, Celtic Mythology, and all things related to her Welsh heritage, an ancestral homeland she was able to memorably visit with her daughter later in her life. She received a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University and a Master of History from Boston College.

During her teaching tenure, she served on the faculty of the University of Chicago Laboratory School, where she met her future husband Bill Southworth in the Graduate Education Department library. They were married in 1966.

After returning to New England, Jane worked as a curriculum developer in Cambridge, MA until the birth of her daughter, Katie. In 1979 Jane moved to Weare, NH where she homesteaded a 200 year-old farm and farmhouse with Bill and daughter Katie. She made Brattleboro home in the early 1990s.

Jane’s lifelong love of music included singing in the Concert Choir, volunteering at the Marlboro Music Festival and playing trumpet and cello with her Brattleboro friends. She adored animals from Morgan horses to English sheep dogs, especially her longtime four-legged companion Bess, with whom she founded Goose Patrol. Professionally, she worked as an environmental researcher in a career that culminated as the recycling specialist for both Brattleboro and South Hadley, Massachusetts.

She was a gardener and longtime co-op member who loved cooking both for friends and as a volunteer with Loaves and Fishes. She also volunteered in the book section of Experienced Goods and was a loved and appreciated member of weekly writing and tai ji groups.

Jane served for years as a representative to Brattleboro town meeting and on several town committees. Jane was politically engaged and aware to the end, even asking for updates on world events in her final days in the hospital.

In John O’Donohue’s book Anam Cara, Jane underlined “Friendship needs a lot of nurturing” beside which she put a simple “Yep”. Jane was a friend par excellence. Her many friends in Brattleboro and beyond will miss her honest and thoughtful, always welcoming, sometimes curmudgeonly, smiling presence.

Jane is survived by many, many beloved friends and family members: her daughter Katie Southworth of Bellingham, WA, son-in-law Dan Kostrzewski and dear granddaughter Flora Grace to whom she was “oooma” (with three o’s) and for whom Jane wrote two children’s books, Flora and the Bunnies and Flora and the Baby Dragons. She is also survived by her former husband Bill Southworth and his wife Penny Welch of Portland, OR as well as by former sister-in-law Ann Lango of Marathon, NY.