Jane McLane Moody

Jane McLane Smith Moody of Falmouth, Maine died at age 87 in her home on April 24th, 2015. Born in New York City on June 6, 1927, Jane was the daughter of Elinor McLane Bowdoin Smith of Baltimore, Maryland and James Hopkins Smith of Portland, Maine. She spent her early childhood living in Paris, France and returned to Falmouth, Maine with her father, brother, and sister following the untimely death of her mother.

Jane was home-schooled in Paris and then attended Waynflete School in Portland. Following her graduation from Waynflete, Jane studied at Connecticut College, from which she was graduated in 1949. She maintained close ties with both schools: Jane served as a member of both the Waynflete Board of Trustees and the Alumni Association, of which she was president for two years. For her service to the school she received the Drake Award in 1977. She was a Connecticut College Trustee, a Chairman of the Alumni Council for the Conn. College Alumni Association, and president of the Conn. College Club of Maine. For these services she received the College Medal.

After graduation, Jane and her crew, including her sister Dana Smith (Poole), won the Charles Francis Adams Cup, a national women’s sailing championship held out of the Larchmont Yacht Club on Long Island Sound, NY. Their victory resulted in bringing the Adams Cup race to Jane’s own Portland Yacht Club the following year. All her life Jane was an active member of the PYC and was involved in its move from Portland to Falmouth in 1947, where it still resides. One of her greatest joys was sailing on Casco Bay, along the Maine coast, and beyond with her husband and many of their good friends.

After college, Jane spent two years in New York City, a time she would often look back on fondly. While there, she worked for Time/Life Magazine as a research editor and a member of the editorial staff of LIFE’s first book, LIFE’s Picture History of World War II, published in 1951.

In 1952 Jane married William (Bill) Milliken Moody. They were married 58 years prior to Bill’s death in 2010. Following his tour with the Navy during the Korean War, they raised their family in Falmouth. Interested family members were the beneficiaries of her passion for genealogy, a topic to which she devoted years. She was an avid gardener and was generous with the raspberry, strawberry, and rhubarb jam that she made from her garden.

Jane loved the city of Portland, its history, and all things concerning its vitality. Her impeccable memory and capacity for stories about the people, buildings, and politics of her favorite city often entertained and educated those around her. Along with her husband, Bill, Jane was among the founders of Greater Portland Landmarks, a nonprofit devoted to preserving Portland’s architectural and cultural heritage. She served as trustee and as project director for its publication, Portland, 1972, and was co-author of Presenting Portland, A guidebook to Greater Portland, 1980. In 1975 Jane received both the Landmarks Preservation Award and from the Maine Historical Society, where she served as a Trustee, the Elizabeth Ring Award.

Jane was a lifelong supporter of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, which she loved to attend with her friends and family. She served as vice-president and secretary of its Board of Trustees, as well as president of the Portland Symphony Women’s Committee. She was a fundraiser and committee member for the renovations of the Merrill Auditorium, and an editor of the Portland Symphony Cookbook, 1974, which was later featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine. For her service to the Orchestra, she received the Portland Symphony Orchestra Distinguished Service Trustee Award.

For her dedication to many of Portland’s civic causes, Jane was awarded the 1976 Westbrook College Deborah Morton Award (now awarded by the University of New England). In 1974 she was appointed by Governor Kenneth Curtis to the Maine State Commission to the Arts and Humanities.

We are grateful for all that Jane gave to her family, her friends and her community. Jane had a tremendous passion for life which was reflected in all her activities but most evident in her ever present humor and her genuine interest in, and kindness towards, all people. The family wishes to give a heartfelt thanks to those who provided Jane with wonderful care at the Falmouth House at Ocean View.

Jane is survived by her children, William Milliken Moody, Jr. and his wife Kimberly and their daughter Caitlin O'Reilly of New York City, Susan Hopkins Moody and her husband Marc Weideman and their daughter Elinor Christine Weideman of Bozeman, Montana, Katharine Fairfield Moody and her husband Kenneth Ernstoff of Newington, New Hampshire, and her grandsons Benjamin James Moody and Christopher McLane Moody of Falmouth. She is also survived by her sister Katharine Dana Smith Jones Poole and her husband William Whipple Poole, her brother Winthrop Noel Smith and his wife Margaret Darcy Smith as well as numerous nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her son James McLane Moody and her sisters Elinora Bowdoin Bolton and Cecelia Bowdoin Hill Gardner.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 2 at 2:00 PM at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 43 Falmouth Foreside, Falmouth, Maine. A reception will follow at the Portland Country Club.

Rather than flowers, contributions may be made to Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress Street, Portland, Maine 04101 or Greater Portland Landmarks, 93 High Street, Portland, Maine 04101.

Arrangements are by Jones, Rich & Hutchins Funeral Home, Portland. Please visit www.jonesrichhutchins for further information and to sign Jane’s guestbook.