Jane Smith Stickney Smith Gwyn

GWYN, Jane Smith Stickney (Mrs. William B. Gwyn), age 80, passed away of pancreatic cancer on October 10, 2017, after a brief hospice stay in Uptown New Orleans. A New Orleans native, she was born Jane Florence Smith on October 13, 1936. She attended New Orleans Public Schools and graduated with honors from Sophie Newcomb College in 1958. In 1959, she married Robert Lawrence Stickney, a native of Lynn, Massachusetts. During their 29-year marriage, which ended with Bob’s untimely death in 1988, she raised two children, helped build a thriving business – Stickney Marine Surveying, and renovated several Uptown homes. In 2006, she married Dr. William B. Gwyn, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Tulane University. Jane was an active member of St Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church, where she served on the Session. She believed in the value of committed and dedicated volunteers and practiced that belief by volunteering in the New Orleans Public Schools, serving on the Board at St. Anna’s Home (former President), reading for WRBH Reading Radio, serving as a guide for the National Park Service’s Trails and Rails Program, and being a blood and platelet donor for many years. Jane was renowned for her organizational skills and had a file for virtually everything, along with a checklist to make sure things were done on time and properly, qualities that made her invaluable to the organizations where she volunteered. She was a member of the Swiss American Society of New Orleans and a former member of the Friday Afternoon Club (President). Jane enjoyed her part-time work at Maple St. Book Shop and was a member of the Bookish Group. She frequently attended the New Orleans Opera, as well as various concerts and cultural events in and around New Orleans. In addition to her volunteer work and social activities, she displayed great kindness, generosity, and a helping hand to many relatives, friends, and acquaintances throughout her life. Jane was preceded in death by her husband, Robert L. Stickney; her brother, Edgar Moret Smith, and three sisters – Dixie Marie Myers, Emilie Virginia Phelps, and Joyce Lee Smith. She was the daughter of the late Edgar Ethelred Smith of New Orleans and Emilie Moret Smith of Fribourg, Switzerland. She is survived by her husband, William B. Gwyn and his family; her children, Emily Stickney Morrison (husband Campbell) and Robert Arthur Stickney (wife Jean); her grandchildren, Sarah Stickney Murphy (husband Brendan), Rachel Sangston Stickney, Robert Lawrence Stickney II, Forrest Campbell Morrison, Smith Christopher Stickney, and Benjamin Stickney Morrison; and her great-grandchildren, Jean Rose Murphy, and Charlotte Emilie Murphy. A large, extended, family of brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, cousins, nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and friends will also miss her very much. A memorial service will be held at 3: 00 p.m. on October 19, 2017, at St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church, 1547 State St., New Orleans, Louisiana. Visitation will be from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., prior to the service, in Frampton Fellowship Hall (entrance on State St.). The family requests that donations be made to St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian (address above) or to WRBH Reading Radio, 3606 Magazine St., New Orleans, LA 70115.