Jane Grace O'Hara Justice

Jane O’Hara Justice, who married her high school sweetheart, raised two children and spent a lifetime of service to others, died in late December, just days before the Christmas holiday. She was 78.

Jane was born and raised in New York and graduated from high school on Long Island before moving to California to start a life with Glen Justice, the man who would become her husband. The two were married in 1967 and Jane supported the family as Glen earned a medical degree.

Jane went on to study nursing at the College of Marin and spent years working as a surgical nurse in hospitals across California. In the 1980s, she left the operating room to raise two boys, but continued service work without a paycheck.

Living in Newport Beach, California, for most of her adult life, Jane volunteered at a free clinic, raised money for the American Cancer Society and supported the medical practice she ran with her husband for more than four decades.

In her 60s and 70s, Jane took service work in a new direction, participating in missions to Haiti, Ukraine, Sri Lanka and other countries in crisis. There, she lived in difficult—sometimes dangerous—conditions as part of a team that administered basic needs.

“Janie lived a life of service,” said Glen Justice, her husband. “This was never more evident than on these missions. We would work for 14 hours, helping 100 people a day. It was exhausting. But here’s this 5-foot-tall woman who never stopped and never complained.”

John Justice, Jane’s son, calls her “the kindest, most compassionate person I have ever known.”

Friends and family describe Jane as a strong and caring woman with a sharp and irreverent sense of humor. A voracious reader, she could consume two popular mysteries in a week, but also had a soft spot for the dark humor of Kurt Vonnegut. An admittedly disinterested cook, she routinely entertained dozens of people in her home. She spent years plying California waters from San Francisco to Dana Point on a sailboat, but discovered late in life that she actually preferred jet skis.

Those she loved also came to know her peculiar brand of generosity, in which she often sent unusual gifts without any season or reason. “My mother loved catalogs,” said Glen Justice Jr., Jane’s son. “If something caught her eye or made her laugh, she would send it. That might be a silver trinket from Tiffany’s or it might be a bedazzled purple Christmas chicken plushie. Some strange things showed up on our doorstep over the years.”

Petula Dvorak, a Washington Post columnist and Jane’s daughter-in-law, described the phenomenon in a piece that drew comments from hundreds of readers.

Sometimes, Jane’s gifts had impact. One friend of the family described receiving a copy of the John Kennedy Toole classic A Confederacy of Dunces from Jane as a teenager.

“It truly felt like she saw me in a way that no one had before,” the girl, now a woman, wrote in a text following Jane’s death. “I was blown away that she just gave me a book! It was the most generous thing in the world to me at the time. I actually think about that a lot, how valued she made me feel—a small thing that made a really big impact on a kid.”

Jane’s life had impact in other ways, too. She was the inspiration for several characters in the work of best-selling author Echo Heron, a life-long friend whom she met in nursing school.

“Jane and I were like sisters, and I loved her like a sister,” Heron said. “Even when we argued, we just wound up laughing. She was fun and quirky and hilarious. We had such a good time together. We could go a year without talking and then just pick up where we left off. I miss her very much.”

Jane is survived by her husband of more than 50 years, Dr. Glen Justice; her sister, Valerie O’Hara; her brother, Tom O’Hara; her two sons, John Kelly Justice and Glen Justice Jr.; her daughter-in-law, Petula Dvorak; her two grandsons, Miloslav Dvorak Justice and Emmett Dvorak Justice; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A private service and lunch for Jane Justice will be held Saturday, January 27, 2024, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will take place in the Library Room of the Balboa Bay Resort at 1221 West Coast Highway in Newport Beach, California. Complimentary valet parking will be available.