Jane Riechers Pak

Jane was born on February 25, 1940, in Hammond, Indiana, to Theodore and Grace Riechers. She became valedictorian of Griffith High School in Griffith, Indiana, in 1958 and graduated with a B.A. in English from Oberlin College in 1962. She married Dr. Charles Y.C. Pak in 1963 and taught middle school English in Kensington, Maryland, in the early years of their marriage. In 1972, Jane and her family moved to North Dallas where she lived the rest of her life.

A strong believer in the DISD, Jane held multiple PTA presidencies during her childrens' attendance in Dallas public schools and served as Cluster Chair and Budget and Finance Chair for the Dallas City Council of PTAs. She developed a particular interest in high-school journalism, editing chapters of the textbook Scholastic Journalism in the early 2000s and organizing the fund-raising auction for the Gloria Shields NSPA Workshop every summer for over a decade.

Jane volunteered tirelessly for many other civic organizations, including Camp Fire, the Hillcrest-Forest Neighborhood Association, the Churchill Recreation Center and the League of Women Voters. She was appreciated for her diplomatic leadership, her focus and enthusiasm, and her clear-sighted and meticulous editing of countless newsletters, directories, speeches and other communications.

Jane was a life-long educator and student who found and spread tremendous joy while observing and gently guiding young minds, exploring the intricacies of good writing, and learning new things every day. She read widely and voraciously, was a decades-long member of three different book groups and a Spanish-language study group, and took an avid interest in history, politics, classical music, theater and art. She traveled extensively with her husband, children, sister, and cousins, always thrilled with each new fact about each new location. She was an outdoorswoman who led her daughters’ Camp Fire groups, ran yearly Camp Fire day camps, and hiked and camped in state and national parks across the country with her family. She loved libraries and museums, and she was a creator herself, an accomplished seamstress and photographer whose beautiful black and white photographs were used in a DISD calendar and a Camp Fire poster promotion in the 1970s. One her greatest joys in her last years was leading an online book discussion group and participating in a writing workshop with her school-aged grandchildren.

Jane will be remembered by her family for her devotion and guidance, her intense and abiding curiosity about the world, her commitment to equal rights and civic engagement, her luminous black and white vérité photography and the countless hours she spent with her children and grandchildren, literally getting on their level to sit on the floor to play and read with them, constantly encouraging their art, writing and growth as human beings.

Jane is survived by her husband Charles, her sister and brother-in-law Leslie and Jonathan Bass; her children Laura, Gregory, and Marjorie and their spouses; and her five beloved grandchildren, Katie, Emily, William, Cole, and her namesake, Jane. A memorial ceremony will take place in Dallas on a date to be determined.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Jane’s memory may be made to the Preston Royal Library Friends, c/o Preston Royal Library, 5652 Royal Lane, Dallas, TX, 75229. In the memo section of the check, please indicate “In memory of Jane Pak for childrens' educational programs.”