Mary Jane Shank

February 26, 2015. Wife of the late William H. Shank and John J. DeVillars; mother of John Pierre (Gunnel Clarke) DeVillars;

step mother of William “Buzz” H. Shank III and Peggy D. Shank; step grandmother of Christina, Ingrid Clarke and Mary Beth Shank;

aunt of Norma Jean Stoffer, Robert Gittins, Janet Armstrong and the late Marilyn Hollabaugh and Louise Cunningham;

sister of the late Helen Gittins, Lewis, James, Robert, Donald, Eugene and Chester McElroy. A Memorial Service

will be held for Mary Jane in July at a date to be determined from the Chautauqua Institute. If desired, memorials

may be made in Mary Jane’s name to the Chautauqua Women’s Club Scholarship Fund, c/o Chautauqua

Institute, 1 Ames Ave., Chautauqua, NY 14722. Online condolences at www.denglerrobertspernafuneral.com

Mary Jane DeVillars Shank, schoolteacher, churchwoman and active volunteer, died Thursday in Oxford Village at Canterbury Woods, Amherst. She was 100.

Born in Clinton, Pa., she graduated from Findlay High School in Pennsylvania and attended Indiana State Teachers College of Pennsylvania.

In 1942, she married John J. DeVillars in Clinton, Pa. After World II, they moved to Western New York, first to Jamestown, where Mr. DeVillars was vice president of Chautauqua National Bank, and then to Buffalo in 1956, when he was named a vice president of Marine Midland Bank.

Mr. DeVillars died in 1971 and she later married William H. Shank Jr. in 1978, who preceded her in death.

Mrs. Shank worked as an elementary school teacher for Allegheny County (Pa.) School System from the 1930s through the early 1940s.

She was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Buffalo and First Presbyterian Church in Jamestown.

She was an active volunteer in numerous local organizations during her 60 years as a resident of Western New York including Women’s Committee of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Westminster Presbyterian Church Children’s School, Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, Chautauqua Development Commission, and Chautauqua Women’s Club Scholarship Committee. She participated in numerous capital campaigns on behalf of the Chautauqua Women’s Club.

On her 96th birthday in 2011, a flower garden at the Chautauqua Women’s Club was dedicated in honor of her service.

Tom Becker, Chautauqua Institution’s president, described her at the time as “a tireless advocate for Chautauqua who exemplifies what it means to be an engaged Chautauquan.”

An amateur artist who studied under Buffalo-area watercolorist Rita Auerbach, Mrs. Shank was an enthusiastic participant in painting, play reading, committee work and other activities at Canterbury Woods until the time of her death.

Survivors include a son, John P. DeVillars; and stepson, William H. Shank.

A memorial service will be scheduled in July at Chautauqua Institution.