Jane Susan (Berger) Conn, 78, passed away on the evening of Wednesday, June 26, 2024. She died peacefully in her home in East Montpelier, Vt., surrounded by family. Jane had undergone a long fight with breast cancer.
Born on May 1, 1946, in Brooklyn, Jane was the daughter of the late Leo and Gertrude Berger and sister of the late Nan Hochstein, growing up in the neighborhood of Bensonhurst. Following high school, Jane traveled to Israel and worked on an agricultural kibbutz. She then attended the California College of Arts and Crafts, where she studied ceramics. While in California, she met Raymond Conn, and they later married, settling in Calais, Vt., in 1968. They had three children, Ira, Jesse and Caitlin, ultimately separating in 1981.
Jane went on to attend Vermont College/Norwich University and became a registered nurse. She was employed at Central Vermont Hospital, Central Vermont Home Health Agency and Berlin Convalescent Home. She loved caring for others, and her nursing career made her proud and fulfilled. Jane had a passion for cooking and loved to share her food with friends and family. She also enjoyed playing pool, backgammon, cribbage, poker and blackjack. Jane loved jazz music and had a beautiful singing voice. She was a very funny lady, and she valued a sense of humor in others; for her, it was a foundational requirement of friendship.
Jane was a Brooklyn girl through and through but was firmly planted and content living in the beautiful countryside in Vermont for 56 years. She felt strongly about living her life here. Jane was troubled by the political and environmental climate elsewhere, and she felt most aligned with the people and place she called home. She will be deeply missed.
A devoted mother and grandmother, Jane loved to share time with her children and theirs. She is survived by her son, Ira Matthew Conn, of Crested Butte, Colo., and Bar Harbor, Maine, and his wife, Holly Conn (Dugan); daughter Jesse Berger Conn of Woodbury, Vt., and her husband, Kodiak Jurkiewicz; daughter Caitlin Coogan Conn of East Montpelier, Vt.; grandchildren Avery and Maya Conn of Crested Butte, Colo., and Liam, Ari, Lucian, Roman and Natalia Jurkiewicz of Woodbury, Vt.; brother-in-law, Stephen Hochstein, of Plainview, N.Y.; and nephews, Robert Hochstein of Duxbury, Mass., and Donald Hochstein of Ramsey, N.J., and their families. Jane is predeceased by her father, Leo Berger; mother, Gertrude (Kantrowitz) Berger; sister, Nan (Berger) Hochstein; and ex-husband, Raymond C. Conn III.
A memorial for Jane will be held on Saturday, July 13, 3 p.m., at the Maple Corner Community Center located at 64 West County Rd., Calais, VT 05640.
The family also invites you to share your memories and condolences by visiting awrfh.com.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice.
This article appears in Jul 3-9, 2024.