Myrtle Jane Ebert

On October 26th, 2021, M. Jane Ebert, wife and mother of two children passed away at the age of 77. She died of endocarditis. She is survived by her daughters, Amy and Laura, her sister, Margaret and brother, Harry. Jane is reunited with her dog, Oreo, her husband Bob, and her two brothers Jim and Bub.

She grew up in the small town of Paris, Missouri during the 1950s where she enjoyed hunting for geodes, playing with her cousins and listening to rock n roll. After high school, she did crosswords in the Sunday paper and worked at a factory sewing shirts. Some of the other ladies at the garment factory advised her to do more with her life. And that she did.

She left town to move to Quincy, Illinois and met her husband while working at Motorola. He was an old guy, 11 years older. He was a lucky man to find her.

When Bob’s mom and aunt found out he was dating her, they drove to town right away. Immediately after meeting her, they decided she was the most wonderful girl. Her mother- and father-in-law adored her, and encouraged her to go to college.

She graduated from Iowa Wesleyan with a B.A. in Education and continued on to earn an M.A. in Reading from Truman State University. She had a passion for teaching kids and sharing knowledge. Jane had a great time with her friend, Nancy presenting at National Reading Conventions.

Garage sales and thrift stores were always good reasons for her to get up early. Her treasure hunting skills paired with her resourcefulness led to great creations and practical solutions. Jane liked to do puzzles, play cards and board games (especially Scrabble), garden, make jewelry, and sew. For her grandkids, Austin and Michael, she made quilts and matching sleeping bags for their beloved stuffed monkeys.

She was a fantastic baker and sweet maker. When she lived with each of her daughters, she did her best to fatten them up. One day she made chocolate dipped candies, sugar cookies and a banana cream pie in one afternoon. She fed you love.

Maybe it was the vocation of teaching, the hours spent talking in front of people that carried over into Jane’s love of talking? You pick the subject, she’d be happy to talk about it. Teaching theories, queries, kids, hometown news, politics, policies, farmland, foreign land, the Vietnam War. Heroes, zeros, bigotry, racism, protests, Facebook updates, weather, whys, books, mysteries, UFOs, religion, idols, idiots, Tv personalities, and anything on the local, national or world news. She was a good talker. She was a good storyteller. She had plenty of people to practice on. Two of her favorites were her grandkids Patrick and Riley; she felt very lucky to live close and see them all the time.

In closing, it is no surprise that her last wish was to help kids. She spent her life teaching thousands of kids to read. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating a backpack to help a child. Her daughter’s school is always in great need of donations and in particular, backpacks. Below is a link to Amazon to purchase a “Backpacks from Mrs. Ebert.” The backpacks will be sent to Willis Junior High in Chandler, Arizona and be greatly appreciated by both the kid and Mrs. Ebert. Jansport Big Student Backpack, Jansport Superbreak Plus Backpack or any quality backpack would be great.

Amazon link:

Backpacks from Mrs. Ebert - https://www.amazon.com/registries/custom/16RDL1DCTZOH2/guest-view

If you choose to buy a backpack (not from the Amazon list), you can send it to:

Amy McPherson

Willis Junior High School

401 S McQueen Rd,

Chandler, AZ 85225

A celebration of life will be held at a park in the Spring of 2022, you will be encouraged to bring a baked good or sweet to share in her memory. The exact date and details will be posted when the plans are finalized.