Jane Austin (Ramsay) Key

She was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, in 1944, the daughter of Anne Austin (Belyea) Ramsay, a descendant of New York Loyalists who settled in New Brunswick after the American Revolution, and Earnest Dougal Ramsay, a Royal Canadian Navy officer who later became an executive with the Steel Company of Canada (STELCO).

After moves to Hamilton, Ontario, and Montreal, the family settled in Westmont, Quebec, where Jane graduated from Westmont High School. She earned a BA in English from McGill University and a Canadian Teaching Certificate from McGill’s Macdonald Campus.

In 1966, she moved to Cambridge, MA, where she loved the progressive culture and beautiful folk music of the ’60s. There she met her future husband, U.S. Navy Lt. William (Bill) H. Key, who was studying Naval Architecture at MIT. They later moved to Winthrop to live full-time on a sailboat through the Boston winters.

Jane and Bill married in Westmont in 1969 and remained married until her passing (57 years). In 1970 the Navy sent them to Guam, where the heat, humidity, and ocean life on the “other side of the world” were a new experience for the lifelong Canadian. While there, Jane earned an MA in History from the University of Guam, researching her thesis at the U.S. Library of Congress.

After a brief stint in San Diego, they settled in Marblehead in 1974 to raise their family. Jane joined the Peabody Essex Museum, where for 38 years she was part of the original staff that grew the museum into what it is today. She found her life passion in DancEnergy aerobic dance, often dancing seven days a week, a level of fitness that helped her recover from a 2012 stroke and return to class soon after three months in the hospital. An avid skier, she taught her husband and sons to ski on day, weekend, and weeklong trips across New England. Jane and Bill later made Sugarloaf their home away from home.

Jane had an innate curiosity about other cultures, places, and ideas. She was a world traveler who visited the United Kingdom, Western Europe, and the Far East. Family trips regularly took them to Montreal, Prince Edward Island, and Canadian ski mountains. Summers typically included a weeklong cruise “down east” to Maine. In 2005, she became a naturalized American citizen.

Jane was a great mother and a superb guiding figure for her two boys. She embodied many of the “true” Canadian personality traits: politeness, modesty, intellectualism, and awareness of the world as a community. Nothing in life daunted her...including Guam...she had a stiff-upper-lip. Jane will be remembered fondly by everyone she interacted with, especially her family and close friends. We all miss you, Jane.

She is survived by husband Bill Key, her two sons, J. Ramsay Key (wife Kiri) and Charles R. Key of Marblehead, three grandchildren Ella, Lucy, and Hadley Key, her sister Norah Ramsay of Calgary Alberta, Canada and her cousins in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, Canada.

A celebration of life will be held at the Eastern Yacht Club on October 21st from 5:00-7:00PM - family, friends, and all who knew her are welcome to stop by. She will be laid to rest in a private burial ceremony. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Marblehead Food Pantry - checks payable to “Marblehead Food Pantry” PO Box 233, Marblehead, MA 01945. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at eustisandcornellfuneralhome.com for Jane's family.