- Date Of Birth: May 4, 1944
- Date Of Death: October 24, 2015
- State: Indiana
Jane E. O’Connell, 71, of Elkhart, passed away at home at 8:42 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24.
She was born May 4, 1944, in Rensselaer, to the late Claude and Gladys (Martin) Conn.
She married John J. “Jack” O’Connell on Aug. 19, 1978. He passed away in Elkhart in 1998.
A graduate of Ball State University, Jane went on to receive her master’s degree in education at Indiana University. She served 30 years as a teacher at Bristol and Beardsley elementary schools. After retiring from the Elkhart Community School System, she spent her remaining years as a cook at Cracker Barrel.
Jane enjoyed working in her flower garden, and it was joked that if she ran out of weeds in her own garden, she could find weeds to pull somewhere else. She looked forward to the Sunday crossword puzzle in the Chicago Tribune, getting her daily coffee at Speedway, and was an avid animal lover. She will be best remembered for making birthday cakes for just about everyone she knew!
Surviving are her daughters, Bridget (Errik) Lemler of Tulsa, Okla., Mary (Cliff) Dittman of Elkhart, Margaret O’Connell of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Kathleen O’Connell of Dallas; sons Patrick (Holly), Michael (Christina) and Daniel O’Connell, all of Elkhart, and Timothy (Regina) O’Connell of South Bend; brother George Conn of Brook; and grandchildren Katherine, Erin, Thomas and Isabella.
