Jane G. Van Fossen

Jane (Gray) Van Fossen, age 97, passed away on Wednesday, February 17, 2010, at Traditions at Stygler Road. She was born in Adams Mills, Ohio, on January 8, 1913, to the late Prescott and Helen Gray. She was the valedictorian of the 1929 graduating class of Dresden High School, and she worked as a secretary for PUCO from 1931 to 1939. She has been a member of Broad Street Presbyterian Church since 1946 where she was active in Christian education. Jane loved gardening flowers and vegetables, and she enjoyed playing piano. She was an expert seamstress, and she used her skills to finish charity quilts for infants through Tender Hearts. She was active in PEO and DAR, and was an avid reader. She loved reading poetry, and wrote quite a bit as well. But mostly, Jane loved her role as matriarch of her large family. She loved spending time with her grandchildren, reading to them and playing with them, and she was famous for her brownies and cookies. She is survived by her children, William S. (Suellen) Van Fossen III, Cynthia (John) Lacher, Margaret Sue (Vaughn) Siegenthaler, Julia Gray (Joseph) Calvario, and Robert Edward Van Fossen; 15 grandchildren; 13 great grandchildren; 3 great grandchildren; and many other nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, William S. Van Fossen, Jr.; son, Brooke (Jane Ann) Van Fossen; and siblings, Ellen Marsh Routzahn, David Gray, Prescott B. Gray, and Martha Charlote Gray.