Mary Jane Cowgill of Silverdale, Washington was born the youngest of five children on December 13th, 1924 in New Albany, Indiana, at the home of her parents, Ralph Christopher Borkenheim and Minnie Irene (Harmon) Borkenheim.
Jane was a genuine original in her early youth... a self-described tomboy with an active imagination and boyish interests. She had her own slingshot. And on a sweltering mid-west summer day, it would have been more likely to find her outside improving her technique in the little known skill of frying eggs on a hot sidewalk, than inside playing with dolls. At the age of 12, when the infamous Ohio River flood of 1937 covered New Albany with 9 feet of water for several weeks, her youthful agility helped her escape her home by crawling out through the window of an upstairs bedroom to a rowboat. Dust from the silt carried into the house by the flood would sift out through cracks in the walls for many years to follow.
Jane always enjoyed school and got excellent grades. By the time her high school years arrived, her adventurous character remained, but her tomboy interests were a thing of the past. In high school her favorite activity was roller skating at the local rink, where her time spent instructing allowed her to skate for free. As a bonus, it was there that she would meet her future husband, Donald Russell Cowgill of Lakewood, Ohio,
Jane was in New Albany High School's class of 1943 and was crowned Homecoming Queen her senior year. By that time, WWII was raging across Europe and Don was an Army master sergeant at Fort Knox in Kentucky. He also enjoyed skating and he had a car. He found that if he and a few buddies pooled their gas rations, he could frequently drive them all to and from New Albany's roller rink to skate. As Jane would later describe things: "I couldn't stand Don at first... but be chased me until I caught him!" With his remaining cash when the rink would close, Jane would eat a whole chicken, Don had a beer, and their romance blossomed.
Don's job running the office staff of General Tristan Tupper seemed secure, so they felt it was safe to plan a wedding. They married on July 31st, 1943. Don wore his uniform, and Jane wore a wedding dress made by her mother, Minnie. Jane was 18. But despite their thoughtful planning. General Tupper received orders from the Pentagon 16 days later, sending him to Europe. And Don's knowledge of the general's operations made him indispensable, so he had to go with him. There they would remain until the war's end.
Shortly after Don left for Europe, Jane used her roller skating talent to sign on as a featured skater with a touring show called 'Skating Vanities'. The show traveled in their own train, which also carried their own floor to be assembled at each venue where they performed. Each season’s show was assembled in Florida. Any ‘bugs’ in the routines were worked out at a show in Montreal, Quebec before the opening in the 20-city tour in the United States. Over a million people attended the performances in 1943.
After Don came home from the war in Europe in 1945, he was discharged from the Army. He returned to Jane, and she ended her skating career. The family began with the birth of Terry in New Albany in 1946. Four months later the three of them moved to Ohio. Terry made the trip in a dresser drawer in the back seat of their 1940 Chevy.
Following the move to Ohio, the Cowgill family continued to grow, with the births of Donna in 1950, Cindy in 1954, and David in 1955. There were several moves during the Ohio period, first to Lakewood, then North Olmstead, and finally back to Lakewood, where all including their Doberman 'Duchess', and Don's parents, Russell and Dorothy Cowgill lived together in a 3-story, 10-room house.
During their time in Lakewood, much of Jane's immediate family migrated from Indiana to California, so the timing seemed right for them to consider a move west as well. In the summer of 1956, they made the move to Sunnyvale, California where they purchased a comfortable 3-bedroom house on a corner lot, conveniently located no further than 3 blocks from the elementary, junior high, and high schools... walking distance.
After a couple of false starts with employment, Don settled in working for Lockheed in Sunnyvale. Jane also joined the workforce for the first time. Using her manual skills and the knowledge she had received in her high school classes, she became an inspector of high-end electronics components used in microwave and radar equipment. She worked first for Varian Associates and then for Watkins-Johnson in Palo Alto. Always a quick learner, she became a respected and valued employee, receiving three promotions in her first eight months at Varian. In that short time, her starting wage of $2.08/hr had already soared to a heady $2.33!
By mid-1964, Don's position with Lockheed was scheduled to be discontinued. He received and accepted an offer to move the family to a new position located in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. There he would be in charge of scheduling, expediting the on and off-loading of Lockheed built Polaris, and Trident missiles carried by US nuclear submarines. When his work was later converted to a Civil Service position, Don converted as well. He retired in 1985, when he was credited with the total of his time in military service, his time with Lockheed, and his time with Civil Service.
The Borkenheim siblings would ultimately spread with their families throughout the country. And although distance would limit the frequency of reunions, they remained close throughout their lives.
Jane and Don lived together happily until the time of Don's death on March 28th, 2005 from complications of leukemia. After that it gradually became apparent that Jane could no longer reliably manage life alone at her home. She had long expressed the desire that if and when she reached that point, she hoped to be able to live at Crista Shores in Silverdale. So, per her wishes, arrangements were made to place her on Crista's waiting list for the availability of an independent living apartment. With the help of family members, Jane made the move. Located in a beautiful waterfront setting, Crista offered many activities that Jane enjoyed throughout her several years there. Then in late 2019, a partial stroke made it necessary for her to make one last move, this time to Harbor House memory care in Poulsbo, where she could receive needed additional assistance.
Throughout her life, Jane followed the example set by her parents, relying on an unwaivering Christian faith to provide her strength and guidance, based upon the simple words: "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.” She grew up attending Park Christian Church in New Albany, where her father was an elder, and her mother was the organist. With Don, she had an active church life in California, where they were youth group leaders for several years. And upon moving to Washington, they became members of Silverdale Methodist Church, where she attended regularly until her move to Poulsbo.
While at Harbor House, Jane was overheard numerous times softly saying, "I'm ready to go!" Five months short of her 96th birthday, she died from heart failure on Saturday, July 25th, 2020. Jane kept her wonderful smile until the very end of her life. She is survived by three children: Terry Elton of Issaquah, Donna Wynn of Seattle, and David Wayne of Bremerton, as well as eight grandchildren: Tim, Jamila, Callie, Annie, Joel, Russell, Tyler, and Lindsay, their spouses, and thirteen great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by daughter Cynthia Leigh at age 4 months, the love of her life, Don, and her siblings: Harmon Borkenheim, Rachel Jones, Martha Hollmann, and Alfred Borkenheim, and their spouses.
Jane kept her will be missed mightily!
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