Jane Marie Jarrad

Jane was born in Flint, Michigan on Jun 17, 1928, the eldest of six children. She mothered children most of her life, beginning with her younger siblings. She was always disappointed she wasn’t able to finish high school, as “duty called” - she was needed at home to help care for a large family, as her own mother worked outside the home to make ends meet in such difficult times.

As a young woman, she met and fell in love with Don Jarrad, they were married on September 7, 1946, when she was just 18 years old. They eventually welcomed eight children into their family, and had a long and enduring marriage until Don passed away in 1998. When her children were young, she stayed home to raise them, and as her youngest headed to school, Jane headed to work. She worked the night shift at Siemens in south Scottsdale for many years, until her retirement in 1984.

She went on to enjoy her retirement years by keeping busy with her home’s upkeep, gardening, visiting, traveling a bit, and even renting out one of her rooms through Airbnb! She enjoyed meeting the people who stayed with her and developing friendships, she was such a gracious hostess that she had many repeat visitors. She was a voracious reader and was never without a book, with countless trips to the Tempe Public Library over the years.

Following is a small narrative of “who” Jane was:

She was shy yet social, with a way of showing she was listening. She took the time to read up on you or what you were interested in discovering. She cut out articles or kept magazines to help you learn something or set you on a path to learn more. She disliked the disorganized yet befriended and organized the messy. She was stern but with calm command, a true leader you could turn to when things seemed hopeless. She didn’t mince her words so if you didn’t want to hear the truth, you learned to be careful what you asked. She seemed like a skeptic, but her will was so strong. Once she made up her mind something was going a certain way, she believed it. She didn’t sing but she hummed. She soothed so many babies with that humming, we called her the Baby Whisperer. Nothing seemed to unravel her, and if it did, she kept it to herself. She was our rock, she was our touchstone, she is the foundation of all that we have become, she is our mom. She is greatly loved and will be dearly missed; there is a hole in our hearts that will be open for a long time.

Jane was preceded in death by her husband Don and their daughter, Linda, as well as two siblings, Donny Post and Pete Post.

She is survived by her children: Thomas Jarrad (Marian), Mardi Jarrad, Diane Schupe (Bill), Lucy Jarrad-McCray (Dennis), Andrew Jarrad (Cynthia), Paul Jarrad (Eileen) and Jennifer Jarrad (Chris Gleason); 16 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. She is also survived by three siblings: Mary Brakstad, Sue McArthur and Mike Post.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to St. Mary’s Food Bank; PO Box 29449, Phoenix, AZ 85038-9449; or www.firstfoodbank.org.

A Rosary Service for Jane will be held Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 10:30 AM at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, 2121 S Rural Rd, Tempe, AZ 85282. Following the Rosary will be a Funeral Mass at 11:00 am. There will be a graveside committal service at 12:45 PM at Valley of the Sun Mortuary & Cemetery, 10940 East Chandler Heights Rd, Chandler, Arizona 85248.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.valleyofthesunfuneralhome.com for the Jarrad family.