Jean Alice Vane

Jean Alice Vane of Visalia passed away peacefully on October 20, 2020. She was born to Albert and Betty Tibke on November 5, 1926 in Ziebach County, South Dakota. She was 93. Jean was as sharp as they came; a trait that was quickly noticeable to those around her. If she wasn’t busy playing strategy games with her friends, you could usually find her reading an interesting book. But her intellect was also apparent in her quick wit and dry sense of humor. Jean was a third-generation teacher, and it showed. She was known to send back greeting cards that she received from her family with the grammar “corrected”. But she was also known to surprise those she loved by sending the occasional warm and heartfelt note. Behind her intelligence was a warm side, if you were lucky enough to get her talking about things she loved, like her family, places she traveled to, or the symphony.

Jean graduated from Dupree High School in 1944 and went on to earn her degree from Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There, she met her husband Rueben “Nip” Vane. The story goes that Nip saw her one day on campus and yelled out “Hey Tibke, wanna neck?” Jean, being the classy lady that she was, ignored him that day. But in the end, he must have worn her down, because they married on June 16, 1950. They enjoyed life together for the next 58 years until Nip’s passing in December 2008. Jean was a strong woman after Nip’s passing and enjoyed spending time with her many friends and traveling with her family.

In 1951, they bought a farm north of Dupree before moving to California in 1960. After some time in Costa Mesa, they settled down in Three Rivers to raise their children. They stayed in Three Rivers until moving to Visalia in 2007. The couple spent summer months in South Dakota, near extended family.

Jean is preceded in death by her husband Nip.

She is survived by her two sisters, Joyce Van Deventer and Joan Jewett; her daughter Bette and her husband Alan Crawford of Exeter; her daughter Tracy and her husband Steve Jolly of Friant; and son Scott and wife Wendy Vane of South Lake Tahoe. She also leaves behind eight grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. She will be missed dearly.

Private family services will be held. Interment will be at the Visalia District Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the Samaritan’s Purse, P.O. Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607 (1-800-665-2843).

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.millerchapel.com for the Vane family.

Arrangements entrusted to Miller Memorial Chapel, 1120 W. Goshen Ave., Visalia, CA (559) 732-8371.