Jane Jackman Fehrs, 84, of Vero Beach, passed away on July 21, 2014 after a long illness.
She is survived by her husband, W. Edwin Fehrs; four children, Laura Jane Fehrs, M.D., Jeffrey Edwin Fehrs, Thomas Lawrence Fehrs, and Seth Jackman Fehrs and their partners; eight grandchildren-Maya, Johanna, Ethan, Bridget, Nathan, Eliza, Anna and Jillian who were all her pride and joy; and her dear cousin and best friend, Molly Page.
She was preceded in death by her brother, Winthrop True Jackman.
Fehrs was a resident of Indian River Estates, Vero Beach, coming from Armonk, N.Y. six years ago. She was born on Jan. 29, 1930 to Marguerite Murphy Jackman and Lawrence McLam Jackman.
She married W. Edwin Fehrs in 1951.
A descendant of Ira Allen, the brother of Ethan Allen and founder of the University of Vermont, Fehrs was a proud native of Vermont. She grew up in the idyllic village of East Corinth, Vt., population – 100. Her elementary education was in the village’s two-room school, and then she graduated as valedictorian from Bradford Academy in the class of 1947.
She was an organizer of regular reunions of the 36 students in that class. She graduated with honors from Tufts University in 1951 and earned an M.A. in Medieval English Literature from Manhattanville College in 1979.
In Westchester County, N.Y., she was an active member of the Armonk Girl Scouts, The Windmill Club, St. Patrick’s Church and Mothers Guild in Bedford Village, N.Y., The North Castle Recreation Department and the Byram Hills PTA. She was a trustee of the Armonk Library.
She taught English at Greenwich High School and the School of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich, Conn., and then for many years as Head of the English Department at the School of the Holy Child in Rye, N.Y.
Fehrs always loved her native Vermont and instilled a love of the state in her husband, children, and grandchildren. She and her family spent many happy summer weeks at her parents’ cottage on Lake Morey and many winter weeks skiing at the East Corinth Ski Tow or the Dartmouth Skiway. Her homes always had many paintings and photographs of East Corinth, arguably the most photographed small town in America, as well as the many New England antiques that she collected and restored.
She was proud of her father’s historic bobbin mill and the fact that the movie Beetle Juice was filmed in East Corinth. Only real Vermont maple syrup was used in her kitchen! Besides Vermont and antiques, she loved reading, skiing, the beach, dressing with class, her friends, and her family. She will be missed by many.
The family extends a special thank you to the nurses, certified nurse assistants and kitchen servers at WillowBrooke Court.
A Funeral Mass will be held 10 a.m., Friday, Aug. 1, at St. John of the Cross Catholic Church, Vero Beach. Arrangements are under the direction of Cox Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home & Crematory, Vero Beach. An online guest book may be signed at www.coxgiffordseawinds.com.
