Samuel and Helen Cory celebrated the birth of their first child, Jane, near Kina, Hawaii on August 6, 1927. Jane’s parents later divorced, and Jane and Helen moved to the mainland. About this time, Jane’s doctor discovered that she had been born deaf.
Helen later met and married John Murphy, who adopted Jane. During the era of Jane’s childhood, deaf children were sent to specialized deaf boarding schools for up to 9 months out of the year. At the time, deaf schools taught using either sign language or oral language. Initially, Jane was sent to the Arizona School for the Deaf where students used sign language as their exclusive means of communication. The next year, she was sent to the Spencer Tracy School for the Deaf, where the students were required to read the lips of their teachers, and attempt to use oral skills to speak. In 3rd grade, Jane returned to the Arizona School for the Deaf when it was discovered that she worked at a 2nd grade level. School officials wanted to move her to the 2nd grade, but Jane wanted to stay with her peers. Her mother negotiated to keep her in 3rd grade, and Jane agreed to do extra school work every day to get caught up. Jane was able to stay with her classmates, and ultimately did two school years’ worth of work in one.
Jane’s family frequently moved, every one-to-two years. Jane attended a different deaf school with every move. She also alternated between oral and sign language schools. She graduated high school and attended one semester at Gallaudet University.
Jane moved to Los Angeles, where she met and married Paul Loveland in 1950. They moved to Winnemucca, Nevada. When they had their first child in September 1951, Jane’s mother expressed concern for the child, and worried about Jane and Paul’s ability to parent. Paul resented the close monitoring, and the family made plans to relocate to Salt Lake City.
During this time, Jane decided that she was tired of moving, and decided that she wanted to settle in a permanent home. While pregnant with her second child, Jane went to Salt Lake City and stayed with friends while she worked as a seamstress. Paul joined her later after finding work as a welder. Their second child, Ella, was born in 1953.
Paul and Jane searched for two years, and finally found a home that Jane could call her own. By that time, Jane worked as a linotypist for the University of Utah, a year or two later she began working for the Salt Lake Tribune.
Their third and fourth children, Dan(a) and Burt came 11 and 14 years respectively after the birth of their second child.
Jane enjoyed gardening and revamping their farm. She was very creative, and found ways to deter weeds while craving plants that she wanted to grow. She read the Bible every day for the last 45 years of her life. She loved nature, travel, and completing jigsaw and word puzzles.
After 63 years of marriage, Paul passed away in 2013. Jane followed him November 19, 2022.
