Jane Marie Henning

Jane Marie Henning passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in New Irving Park at 100, Monday, August 29, 2022. Jane had been a resident of Greensboro since 1976 after relocating from New Jersey with her husband, John (Jack) and youngest daughter, Sharon.

Born Jane Marie McCormick to Marguerite and Louis McCormick, she grew up in South Orange and Maplewood, New Jersey, with four sisters and a brother.

Jane loved the ocean, and every summer on the last day of school their father would drive the family to the shore to spend the season. She was a fearless ocean swimmer and would swim out past all others to swim laps from jetty to jetty. Swimming and the ocean were lifelong passions, and many fond memories were made when she was a mother and the young family would pack up the car and drive down the shore for the day. As the afternoon waned, she’d get into the sea, again venture out further than anyone, and swim back and forth between the jetties as her kids watched nervously from the shore.

As a girl she was outgoing and athletic, and for a moment thought she could be an Olympic runner because she said no boy could catch her. An avid tennis player and enthusiast her whole life, she looked forward to watching the US Open every year.

Jane graduated from Columbia High School in South Orange and soon got a job at Western Electric. At a dance sponsored by the company she caught the eye of a handsome coworker and smiled. Both smitten after their first date, Jane and Jack knew they were meant for each other. It was June 1942 and they no sooner married and Jack was off to fight in WWII in the Pacific theatre.

After the war, the couple settled in Livingston, New Jersey to raise their five children. Jack had returned to his job at Western Electric in New York City, and when the company, now AT&T moved to Greensboro, they asked Jack to relocate. By that time, four of the five children had already left home, and Jack, Jane, and Sharon soon arrived in Greensboro.

At first the move proved challenging, having left family and friends and the life they knew in New Jersey, but they soon acclimated and found their way. They became members of the Newcomers club, the Gourmet club, the Bridge club, the Tennis league and Sedgefield Country Club. Throughout her life, Jane made many dear friends and loved to entertain, so it was no wonder she would thrive in her newfound home. Her friendly, funny, and outgoing personality brought many into her life. In later years, sidelined with dementia, she never lost her sense of humor or spirited nature.

Jane loved books and movies and current events and storytelling and had a curiosity about the world and a yen to travel. After Jack retired the two made many memorable trips abroad.

Jane was predeceased by her husband of 61 years, John, and a son, John Jr. She leaves three daughters, Suzanne Guariglia of New Jersey, Patricia Bonn of Florida, Sharon Gilbert of Greensboro, and a son Richard Henning of New York.

As a girl, she adored her grandparents and as a grandmother herself she was adored by her

eleven grandchildren, Justin and Jordan Guariglia, Austin and David Bonn, Alison Caruthers, Patrick, John, Grant, and Kelly Henning and Alexandra and Alana Gilbert, and twelve great grandchildren.

Jane loved being with people and wanted always to remain in her home, and thanks to the support of family and the many devoted caregivers she was never alone and lived out her days in the home that she loved.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, September 30, at St. Pius the Tenth Catholic Church, 2210 North Elm Street, Greensboro. Entombment will follow at Westminster Gardens Mausoleum, 3601 Whitehurst Road, Greensboro.

Hanes Lineberry North Elm Chapel is assisting the Henning family with arrangements. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared by visiting www.haneslineberryfhnorthelm.com.