Jayne Vanzant Polliard

What an amazing woman and inspiration our mother was! At a young age, she learned to respond to life rather than react to it. Jayne lived not from a perspective of “What now!” but “What next?” Her life was enriched by acquiring knowledge and all the more so when sharing what she learned with others.

Jayne was born Lois Jane Scholz on November 15, 1923, in Lake Forest, IL, to Robert Francis Scholz and Rose Hazel O’Connell. Her parents divorced when she was about 4 years of age. At the age of 8, she was adopted by her mother’s second husband, Nicholas Shaefer, and became Lois Jane Shaefer. Nick passed away suddenly from a heart attack when Jayne was 12. She added the “y” to her name when she was a teenager, becoming Jayne, which she felt wasn’t quite so “Plain Jane”. In 2015, at the age of 91, she chose to be recognized by the name that honored her two husbands, the fathers of her children.

Jayne met her first husband, James Pursell Vanzant, in Honolulu, HI, in November 1939. She was attending the Punahou School and he was serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps stationed at Schofield Barracks. They met at a roller-skating rink when he asked her to skate. She and Jimmie married on July 3, 1942 at the Presidio Chapel in San Francisco, CA. They had six children, Dale, Dianne, Karen, Laurie, Lance and Leslie. Jimmie and Jayne loved to dance, looked forward to road trips on Route 66 traveling between duty stations, and thoroughly enjoyed their growing family. Their firstborn, Dale, passed away on November 13, 1943, when he was 8 days old. Jimmie passed away in an automobile accident on July 16, 1955, at the age of 35, in Rabat, French Morocco. He was a Captain in the U.S. Air Force stationed there with their family. Jayne returned to the states and settled in Colorado Springs with Dianne, Karen, Laurie, Lance and Leslie.

She met her second husband, John Earl Polliard, in Colorado Springs, in August of 1960. The two met at Balanced Rock in Garden of the Gods Park when Johnny brought his Boy Scout Troop from Raymondville, TX, to Colorado Springs for the 1960 International Boy Scout Jamboree. Jayne and her Girl Scouts had hiked through the park from “Hamp Hut” to Balanced Rock after learning that there were lots of buses coming through with sightseeing boy scouts! Jayne married Johnny on September 1, 1961, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Colorado Springs. They had two children, Michelle and Randy. Johnny had two adult children, Jan and Nancy, from his first marriage. Jayne and Johnny enjoyed parenting their young children and staying involved in their respective scouting lives. Johnny had a life-long career as an electrical lineman when he met Jayne, and began working at the United States Air Force Academy in 1962. He passed away on March 28, 1968, at the age of 51, in an electrical workplace accident on the Academy grounds.

Jayne’s greatest desire when she was young was to become a mother. An only child, she yearned to be surrounded by a family of her own. She looked forward to marriage and enjoying that vision. Jayne kept busy with her children’s many school, scouting and sports activities. She loved having a full house, and that included the friends of her children. She happily saw her dream through, although mostly without her loving husbands who were each wonderful fathers. Thankfully, our fathers each enjoyed documenting daily life, giving us treasured photos and precious movies to revisit and cherish.

While raising us, Jayne led by example. In the 1950’s, when her girls were in Girl Scouts, she saw a need for volunteerism and joined the Girl Scouts Wagon Wheel Council in Colorado Springs. She was a scout leader for numerous troops, once was the coordinator overseeing the annual “cookie-drive”, and at one time served on the board of the GSWWC. She organized the “SOCOKA Conference” held in Colorado Springs for Girl Scouts from southern Colorado and Kansas.

In the 1960’s and 1970’s, Jayne deeply felt that there was a need for change toward family-centered maternity care. She co-founded the Childbirth Education Association in Colorado Springs, and later co-founded the Association for Prepared Parenthood, with Successful Breastfeeding. Jayne was a childbirth instructor and spent many hours teaching women, childbirth coaches and couples to navigate the unknowns in the childbirth journey. Jayne strongly advocated for “fathers in the delivery room”, “rooming in” and “nursing on demand” for families at a time when such things were broadly opposed by the medical community. Jayne founded the Colorado Springs chapter of La Leche League. As a breastfeeding counselor, she held monthly meetings in her home where mothers, infants and children were welcome. She supported women with love when answering their phone calls, listening and offering suggestions to help allay their fears and address their concerns regarding any issue at hand.

In the late 1970’s, Jayne met Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in Colorado Springs, and was a supporter of the concept of the hospice movement from its initial inception here at Penrose Hospital. She also formed the Cleft Lip/Palate Parent Support Group for the March of Dimes in Colorado Springs.

In the late 1980’s, she founded Phobia Free, to support those suffering from agoraphobia and panic disorder. She shared techniques that she had learned from her own experiences to aid in their recovery. Jayne earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology summa cum laude at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in 1991, exactly 50 years after her graduation from high school. She began developing her artistic talent through classes at UCCS and the Colorado Springs Senior Center. She created beautiful watercolor paintings, soon teaching watercolor theory at the Senior Center well into her 90’s.

Jayne had a love of writing, was quick-witted and had a hilarious sense of humor. Throughout her lifetime she very much enjoyed reading “The Gazette” to learn all about the goings-on in her town and the greater world. She touted the benefits of yoga, found astrology intriguing, and dabbled in handwriting analysis. Jayne loved to dance and enjoyed listening to music, especially from the Perry Como and Engelbert Humperdinck eras. She voted in every election since she turned 18. She was a loyal friend and a fierce advocate. Each day she prepared for visitors wearing her fun, bright outfits, having her short, wavy hair “scrambled” and her lipstick and makeup on.

Jayne was a woman of integrity, strength, resilience and grace for whom motherhood was her primary goal and lifelong commitment. She was a devoted and proud mother of 8, grandmother of 14, great-grandmother of 7, and her 4 “great-greats”, as she lovingly referred to them. The matriarch of our family, throughout her life she never interfered in our lives although she was always there to provide her unconditional love, guidance and full support when needed. She displayed an amazing love for our family, and they a reciprocal love for her. She passed away at the age of 99, with family by her side in their family home of 67 years. As she often reminded us, she was well into her 100th year!

Jayne was preceded in death by her firstborn, Dale Shaefer Vanzant and her step-daughter Nancy Jane Polliard. She is survived by her children Bonnie Dianne Lloyd, Karen Vanzant, Laurie Staub (Don), Lance Vanzant, Leslie Montez (Michael), Michelle Quaney (Kevin), Randall Polliard (Jamie), her step-son Jan Polliard (Sharon), and her many descendants and their loved ones.

A Celebration of Jayne’s Life is being planned by her family. Jayne’s inurnment will take place at Arlington National Cemetery in Alexandria, VA, with arrangements being made through Swan-Law Funeral Directors in Colorado Springs.