Sue Smith
Copyright 2002
Jane first came to SWC in the early Spring of 2002, and was assigned to the Network group, originally. Linda Stock and I both sent her a welcome letter so she began privately corresponding with us.
My first opinion of Jane was that she must be a young gal in her late 20’s or early 30’s. She seemed new and innocent to email support groups. So when she shared with me one day that she was going to be 70 in April, I was shocked.
Jane had a wonderful sense of humor. She also had a funny way of typing. It was like she typed the way she talked. She would put dashes in words so you would know how she was saying it. For instance she would say “This computer is going very-y-y slo-w-w-w-w today!” Jane and my mother share a birthday and so does Jane’s husband and my dad. So when Jane and Tom came to Phoenix for a week it was arranged to have a birthday dinner with my parents. We went to Black Angus and had a wonder time.
Unfortunately Jane’s hearing was so bad, she couldn’t understand anything anyone said. She had no lip reading skills at all. So Tom and I would write everything down for her. I showed her my CI and encouraged her to look into getting one for herself.
She left the Network list and joined the SWC CI support group. She made friends instantly and became one of the best supporters there. She felt she was too old to get the CI but we encouraged her.
On July 3, Jane had her surgery and on August 2nd she was hooked up. She didn’t do well at first, but Jane said she would not consider it her “hook-up day” but instead her “hook-up month.” This way she wouldn’t be disappointed.
One of the things Jane always said was to “hang-g-g-g-g in there!” to others who were struggling. She was always positive, with never a negative comment. She wrote to all the newbies, welcoming and encouraging them.
On August 20, 2002, Jane was in a tragic car accident and passed away later that evening. We in the CI group will miss her terribly.
Some people come into our lives and are around for years and hardly make a dent. Others come in for a short time, but make a lasting impression. Jane was such a person and she will be terribly missed.
NEXT
BACK to Table of Contents