Jane Jackman

Jane Lawler Jackman, a proud New Englander and long-time resident of Annapolis, passed away peacefully Thursday evening, Jan. 8, 2026, at Riderwood Village in Silver Spring, where she had been living for the past 12 years.

Born Feb. 20, 1935, in Worcester, Mass., Jane spent the first several years of her life living in a hotel, much like the children’s book heroine Eloise, that was managed by her father, the late Maurice T. Lawler. As a child, she made several ocean voyages back and forth to Bermuda, the birthplace of her mother, the late Clara Smith Lawler.

She attended Blessed Sacrament, where she used to sneak cigarettes when the nuns weren’t looking, and later graduated from what is now known as Colby-Sawyer College in New London, N.H. As a young woman she took flying lessons and got engaged to a dentist. But it was while working on the “society” pages at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette that the trajectory of her life changed. She met a young reporter and quickly fell in love.

After breaking things off with the dentist, Jane married the reporter — Francis P. “Frank” Jackman — on Dec. 28, 1957. The couple settled in Marblehead, Mass., and the first of their five children, Mary Jane, arrived exactly two years later, quickly followed by Francis L. and Catherine. In August 1963, the young family relocated to Annapolis, from where Frank commuted to his job with United Press International in Washington, D.C.

A fourth child, Ann, was born in June 1964 and the family moved from house to house in the Admiral Heights neighborhood before settling into their new family home on McDonough Road in 1969. A fifth child, Michael, came along in February 1975.

When she wasn’t shuttling her children back and forth to St. Mary’s, to afterschool activities, to band concerts, to games, the community pool, and the like, Jane was active in the community. Over the years, she volunteered at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, was the volunteer coordinator at the Charles Carroll House, ran the PTA at Germantown Elementary School, was president of the Admiral Heights Improvement Association, was active in the auxiliary at Anne Arundel General Hospital, as well as with the Annapolis Symphony and Anne Arundel County Fair, was a tour guide with Historic Annapolis, a Cub Scout Den Leader, and taught herself enough about soccer to coach a youth team. She also worked at the Kitchen Bazaar and the Gift Horse.

Jane loved loud family gatherings, her cats, decorating for Halloween, making cranberry muffins for Christmas morning, preparing special meals for birthdays, hosting Thanksgiving dinner for the extended family, cheering for Navy football, and the occasional late afternoon cocktail with good friend and next-door neighbor Mary Ellen Nichols.

Jane was pre-deceased by her parents, her three brothers, Thomas, John and Peter Lawler; her daughter Ann Jackman Hynes; her grandson Michael F.K. Hammaker; and her son-in-law Michael K. Hammaker. She is survived by her daughters, Mary Jane Jamar and Catherine Hammaker; her sons, Francis and Michael Jackman; her daughters-in-law Molly O’Brien Jackman and Patricia Barry Jackman; her son-in-law Richard Hynes; her grandchildren Caroline Jackman, Conor Jackman, Grace Hynes, J. Jane Hammaker, Margaret Jackman, Liam Hynes, Joseph Jackman, Samuel Jackman, Wesley Jackman; and her great-granddaughter Benoit Ford Hynes.

A visitation will be held at John M. Taylor Funeral Home 147 Duke of Gloucester St, Annapolis, MD 21401 on Friday, January 16, 2026 from 5 to 7 pm.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, January 17, 2026 at 9 am in Saint Mary Catholic Church 109 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis, MD 21401. Interment Saint Mary Cemetery, 845 West Street, Annapolis, MD 21401.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Leukemia Research Foundation or the Riderwood Benevolent Care Fund.