Jane died.
That was really all our mom wanted to be said when she breathed her final breath on October 28, 2025, at the Converse Home in Burlington. It was both a joyous and a deeply sad event. Joyous because the grief that Jane held since her beloved soulmate, John Ewing, died in 2017 has finally been eased. Deeply sad because we will all miss her so much.
Jane was born and grew up in Northampton, Mass., the eldest of six. After high school, Jane was accepted into the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps and graduated from Leominster Hospital School of Nursing in 1948. As a nurse she worked in New York City hospitals; several summers at the Farm and Wilderness Camps in Plymouth, Vt.; later with the VNA in Winooski; and finally as the medical coordinator at the Elizabeth Lund Home.
Much as Jane enjoyed her nursing career, her favorite job of all was being a mother. She started with three children from her marriage to Jerold F. Lucey and warmly welcomed five more when she married John in 1975. Jane is survived by all of their children and spouses: Colleen Lucey Montgomery and Douglas Montgomery; Cathy Lucey and Stephen Peisch; David Lucey; John (Jack) T. Ewing Jr. and Bettina Stark; Andrea Ewing and Ned Markey; Allison Ewing and Christopher Hays; Peter Ewing and Jessica (Yuen) Li; and Michael and Irene Ewing; as well as 12 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister Jude Newman and many nieces and nephews.
Jane was predeceased by her parents, Harold and Gladys Newman; her brothers, James Newman, John Newman and Jeffrey Newman; and her sister Joan Newman Kochin.
Jane was a lifelong reader, a “news-aholic” and a generous supporter of many local organizations. She was not one to make what she would call “social noises.” She was appalled by the current administration, baffled by racism, and grateful every day for her family and for the caring, wonderful staff at Converse Home, who became dear to her during the four years that she lived there.
Jane was clear that she did not want a funeral or a service. She wanted everyone to “quietly do their own thing” upon her death, which family and friends will do together at the Louisa Howard Chapel, which Jane helped to lovingly restore, at a later date. She chose cremation and reserved a space in the Cremation Garden at Lakeview Cemetery. Elmwood-Meunier Funeral Home is handling the cremation. Jane wanted donations to go to Parks Foundation of Burlington. Considering current events, we are confident that she would also be pleased by donations to COTS or local food shelves.
This article appears in The Winter Preview Issue 2025.