Anna Jane Manning

Anna Jane Manning, 86, passed away on Thursday, January 15, 2015 in Banning, CA. She was born November 16, 1928, in Lusk, Wyoming, about 45 miles from the homestead her father owned. Her parents, Henry Rosco Ross and Veda Overacre lived in a one room shack, framed with wood covered with tar paper. Eventually there were seven children in the family.

A farmer at heart as well as profession, her father planted an enormous garden filled with the wonderful vegetables a family thrives on.

An Iron range provided heat for cooking, warm water, and what warmth could be felt in the house. They used wood, and coal when necessary, for heating and cooking.

In the early 40’s, Jane was about 12, when the family had a dairy route to Lance Creek, about 13 miles away. They couldn’t afford to have their milk processed, so the dairy route closed when pasteurization was required.

In her short biography, the life she described is very much like that depicted in Little House on the Prairie…complete with washing clothes on a washboard with lye soap, a dirt cellar in the side of a hill, a hand operated water pump, one room school houses, and moves from one area to another. The outhouse was several feet away from the house and had to be moved when it filled up. She never thought of what they lived through as hardships, but just as “the way things were”.

Her mother died at the young age of 51 and Jane felt the need to help her father raise the rest of the family at the homestead. Her sister, Emma, had contracted polio, and returned home from the hospital in an iron lung. She lived for many years, and learned to breathe outside the iron lung for some periods of time. Jane cared for her until her death.

Jane came to Christ at a very young age, having received her first Bible from her fifth grade teacher. Through good times and bad, she wrote that she felt the presence of Jesus with her. She felt His strength as she helped care for Emma for Years. A brother, John, became severely disabled at the age of 19. Through it all the cornerstone of her life has been Jesus Christ.

Jane graduated from the University of Wyoming in Laramie in 1957. Twenty two years later she received her M.A. from Cal State San Bernardino. She also had an A.A. in Accounting from Skadron College.

Her teaching career began in Wyoming one room schools, as she taught several grades at one time while earning her college degree at the University of Wyoming. The following eight years were spent teaching fifth grade in Lance Creek, 13 miles from her family’s homestead.

Having suffered some severe illnesses, she left cold Wyoming and moved to Banning, California, where she taught for the next 39 years.

Her teaching career continued in Banning until her retirement, and eventually she taught in every elementary school in the district except Cabazon. While at Central School she met Ted Manning and they were married in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1968. Their marriage was a contented one, lasting nearly 39 years until Ted’s death. They loved to travel together on road trips and cruises.

Since her retirement Jane has continued to learn, finding each new day as another opportunity to learn more. For the past 12 years she has taught a weekly Bible Study in her home. When she moved to The Lakes she continued to teach until two days before her death on January 15, 2015, when she passed away in her sleep.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Ted Manning; sisters, Mary Etta Dickau and Emma Low Ross; and three brothers, Riley Allen Ross, Marvin Overacre Ross, and John Arnold Ross. She is survived by her brother, Thomas Edward Ross of Casper, Wyoming, beloved teacher friends, church family, and uncountable former students.

A Memorial Service was scheduled on Wednesday, January 28, 2015 at 11:00 am at the LifePoint Church, 565 N. San Gorgonio Avenue, Banning, CA 92220

Family under the care of Weaver Mortuary (951) 845-1141