Jane Larson McGuirk

She is survived by her son, Brian McGuirk, and his wife Kristin (Wedel) McGuirk, daughter Amy Lazier and her fiancée Kayla Casperson, granddaughters Ophelia-Jane Larson Lazier and Rose Gertrude McGuirk, new grandson James Gene McGuirk, sister Ann Peterson and her husband Lorin, brother Dale Larson and his wife Kim, many beloved nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, and an army of loving friends. She is predeceased by her husband of 37 years, James McGuirk, and her parents, Raymond and Gertrude (Hammar) Larson.

Jane spent more than half of her life in Rhode Island, but she was a “Kansas Girl” to her core. She was born in the small town of Morganville, Kansas, where her parents were wheat farmers. She attended a one-room schoolhouse called the Swedesburg Elementary School, then Clay Center Community High School, in Clay Center, Kansas. Upon graduation, she attended Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. It was at Bethany, home of the Terrible Swedes, that she forged friendships she would cherish for the rest of her life: the wonderful ladies known as the “Mona Maidens.” With the Mona Lisa as their revered icon, the Monas held reunions every two summers, sent quarterly Mona letters with updates on their lives and the lives of their spouses, children, grandchildren, and communities. Jane loved the Monas, their reunions, and their letters, with all her heart and for all her days.

Fate brought Jane to Rhode Island in the early 1970s, where she has thrived ever since. Showcasing her native ingenuity and handiness, she opened a popular craft store called “Jane Larson’s” in Wickford, Rhode Island, and ran it successfully for several years.

In 1977, Jane took a job as a paralegal at the law firm of Edwards & Angell in Providence, Rhode Island. There she met the love of her life, Jim. They married in September 1980. Their son Brian arrived in 1983, and their daughter Amy followed in 1989.

Jane worked for more than 25 years running the Chaplain’s Office at Providence College. She loved the priests, students, and colleagues with whom she worked. The feeling was mutual, and in 2019, she was nominated by her peers and received the inaugural “Torchbearer” award from Providence College, an award established to recognize staff members who had made “extraordinary contributions” to the institution and exemplified the highest ideals of the institution and community.

The Chaplain’s Office also afforded Jane a daily opportunity to reflect on her faith. Jane was raised Lutheran and took her faith seriously all her life. Her experience with Jim and the lens provided by the Chaplain’s Office gave her a unique appreciation of Catholicism, and she converted in 2018.

With the arrival of her granddaughters, Jane retired from Providence College in 2021. Retired, but hardly slowed down. All who knew Jane marveled at her energy, industry, and cleverness. She was a natural problem-solver in all areas of her life, particularly in applying her impressive woodworking skills to home improvement projects. She aced a furniture-making class at Rhode Island School of Design in 2015, of which she was very proud.

Jane was also an avid and notable gardener for many years, often working from dawn to dusk in nearly all weather. Her garden was an effective encapsulation of what made her so universally loved: it required care, investment, patience, wisdom, warmth, perspective, resilience, and love, and yielded peace, beauty, and life. She had such a beautiful, understated strength that friends and family alike were always drawn to her. She was frequently cited as “one of the best people anyone knows.”

With her native health and energy and her parents’ longevity, everyone expected to have much more time with Jane. Her diagnosis last summer was a shock to all. But Jane moved forward with the same grace and wisdom she did with everything else. She never complained, never wallowed. Her most common observation on her terrible luck was “I’m glad this happened when I was 79 and not 39 or 49.” She carried that grace and peace until the very end.

Jane Larson McGuirk will be sorely missed by all who knew her, particularly her children and grandchildren.

Visitation will be held Sunday, April 12th from 2:00-5:00 pm with her funeral on Monday, April 13th at 9:00 am in the Russell J. Boyle & Son Funeral Home, 331 Smith Street, Providence. A concelebrated Mass of Christian Burial will be held Monday at 10:00 am in St. Pius V Church, Eaton Street, Providence. Graveside burial will follow in St. Ann Cemetery, Cranston.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Jane Larson McGuirk to: Bethany College, 335 E. Swensson St., Lindsborg, KS; or Providence College, 1 Cunningham Square, Providence, RI 02908.