Jane Williams DuBois

Jane Williams DuBois passed away at the age of 85 on September 21 in Houston, Texas, after a prolonged illness. Like the wild birds that Jane loved to watch, her soul has taken wing to be with her beloved Heavenly Father. She was born February 5, 1926, in Savannah, Georgia, where she grew up a true southern belle. She met her husband, Joe DuBois, during World War II and they were married in 1946 after Joe’s service as an Army paratrooper. Jane loved to tell how her wedding dress was made from parachute silk and friends saved sugar coupons for her wedding cake.

After their wedding, Jane and Joe moved to Golden, CO, where they lived in a small trailer set on saw horses and she worked for the Colorado School of Mines administration office while Joe attended college there. After Joe graduated, they moved to west Texas where Joe began his career as an exploration geologist for Mobil Oil Co. Jane began her career as a geologist’s wife, raising their two sons, Steve born in 1950 and Scott born in 1953, while Joe was frequently on the road “sitting on wells”.

Over the years, Mobil moved Jane and her family throughout Texas and Louisiana and at each new location she created a loving home for her family. Jane was an outstanding cook and took great pride in feeding her family and being a wife and mother. She fed her family so well that Joe never ate a McDonald’s hamburger until late in his life.

Homeless families held a special place in Jane’s heart, and one of her major accomplishments while living in New Orleans was being significantly involved in the 1987 creation of the House of Ruth home for homeless families. The House of Ruth provides homeless families and families in crisis, with opportunities to regain independence through stable housing and employment. According to their web site, the House of Ruth “has helped thousands of families in transitional housing, and its success rate speaks for itself. More than 85 percent of clients obtain employment while in the program and at least 75 percent remain in the same or obtain better housing six months after program completion.” Because of her work with House of Ruth, Jane was given the key to the city of New Orleans and had an audience with Pope John Paul II.

Jane retired from being an oil man’s wife in 1987 when Joe retired from ExxonMobil and they moved to Corpus Christi, TX, where some of their happiest family years had been. Jane loved the Corpus beaches and their new Padre Island home on the water was her dream home. After retiring to Corpus, Jane became an enthusiastic “birder” and loved to listen to the gulls around her house and go on bird watching trips throughout Texas and Alaska. While living on Padre Island, Jane was largely responsible for helping establish the Padre Island Presbyterian Church and coordinating with the island Presbyterian congregation to have a Southern Baptist work party help build the Presbyterian church on the island. The Island Presbyterian Church on Padre Island continues to be a viable congregation with numerous programs.

In 2005, Jane and Joe moved from their Padre Island home to the Trinity Towers retirement community in Corpus Christi where she lived until moving to Houston in March 2011 to be near her son Scott and daughter-in-law Cyndy. Scott and Cyndy lovingly took the lead role in her care during the last year of her life.

Jane is survived by her sons Steve and wife Kenna DuBois in Delta Junction, Alaska, and Scott and wife Cyndy DuBois in Houston, Texas; granddaughters Christie DuBois Goedon and her husband Ryan in London, England, and Paige DuBois in Houston, TX; grandson Travis DuBois in Pocatello, Idaho; and her brother Dewey Williams in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Jane will be interred with her late husband Joe and her parents at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations can be made to the House of Ruth, New Orleans or the Audubon Outdoor Club of Corpus Christi.