Jane Clark Cole

Jane Clark Cole of Spring Hill died April 30 at the age of 92. Born February 27, 1934, in Orlando, Florida, she was the daughter of the late Dr. Herman Tankersley Clark and Bertha Elliott Clark. Jane was preceded in death by her husband of 72 years, Dr. Edward "Ned" Fowler Cole, her siblings Charles Wesley “Wes” Clark and Carol Cecelia Clark, and her daughter Cecelia Carol Cole.

From an early age, Jane had a love of road trips and always looked forward to the next cross country drive. It was fortunate that in 1954 she married her sweetheart, Ned, and happily signed herself up for life as a military spouse. It was a role she embraced, trading road trips for transatlantic adventures, traveling around North America and Europe — though she never quite warmed up to the packing and moving that came with it.

As her children got older, Jane decided to pursue her dream of getting a college degree and graduated from Florida State University in 1981 with a bachelor's in Criminal Justice. She went on to work for various nonprofits providing crisis support before joining Florida Department of Children and Families in Brooksville, Florida, where she spent 10 years as a social worker helping people qualify for various forms of aid. At her retirement party, a bouquet of flowers arrived with a balloon that read, "Welcome Home!" — a reflection of Ned's sense of humor.

Jane was a lifelong scout leader with around 50 years in Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. She loved it so much that she got Ned to help her, and he received a 25-year pin from the Girl Scouts.

Jane always had a love of horses. As a teenager she learned to ride sidesaddle, though she always preferred the western saddle. After moving to Spring Hill she turned her attention to driving, training her horses to drive trap carriages. She was often seen riding up and down Bowman Road in the '90s and early 2000s. She owned five horses throughout her life.

She is survived by six of her children: Deborah Dorothea "Thea" (Kenji Nakagawa), Katherine "Katie" Jane (Larry Appleton), Edward "Ted" Fowler Jr. (Candy), Elizabeth "Liz" Ann (Steve Tate), Lester Conrad, and Brenda Louise (Eric Morgan), along with 23 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild.

Jane's Celebration of Life will be held at 1:00 p.m. on June 6th at Turner Funeral Home, 14360 Spring Hill Drive, Spring Hill, FL 34609. Though Jane loved flowers, the family would prefer donations be made to a charity of your choice in her memory.