Jane Stevens Ashbaugh, October 17, 1920-February 18, 2011A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 2, 2011, at the First Presbyterian Church, Sac City, Iowa. A luncheon will be served before the service. Memorials may be directed to First Presbyterian Church, Sac City, or the Loring Hospital Family Hospice, Sac City.
(Mary) Jane Stevens was born October 17, 1920, in Seattle, Washington, the only child of Chauncey Graham Stevens and Ruth Esbensen Stevens. Her father's family, including the Stevens and Graham families, were from Montour, Iowa, where Jane's grandfather Stevens was a judge. Jane's ancestors on the Stevens side had been in America for many, many generations and had fought in the Revolutionary War. Jane's mother's parents, a former opera singer with the Norwegian National Opera and a businessman who graduated from college in nearby Murmansk, Russia, had each grown up in Norway before emigrating to the United States.
Jane grew up in Seattle, Washington. Jane remembered playing as a small child on a polar bear rug which had been a gift from Roald Amundsen, the famous Norwegian explorer who led the first expedition to the South Pole. Amundsen gave the rug to Jane's mother's cousin, Clara Von Tangen, whom he courted for many years. Cousin Clara declined to marry Amundsen due to the length and danger of his polar expeditions; Amundsen never married.
Jane graduated from Ballard High School in Seattle in 1938 and from the University of Washington in 1942. She attended a summer graduate program in history at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She taught high school in Washougal and in Tahoma, Washington. She then earned her graduate degree in French at the University of Iowa, where she roomed next door to Flannery O'Connor, the soon-to-be-acclaimed Southern author. Most importantly, she met her future husband, Harley Ashbaugh, at the University of Iowa in 1946.
Harley and Jane were married in Seattle on August 14, 1948. She taught French at Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa, and then moved with Harley so he could pursue his journalism career. They later made their home near Sac City, Iowa, when Harley returned to farming. They had three children, Carolyn Ashbaugh, Mark Stevens Ashbaugh, and Elaine Ashbaugh. Jane later taught French and English in high schools in Fonda, Wall Lake, and Albert City, Iowa, and at Eastmont High School in East Wenatchee, Washington. Jane and Harley had four grandchildren, Brandt Harley Amlie, Derek Thomas Amlie, Karl Christian Amlie, and Laura Jane Amlie.
Jane was an active member of the Presbyterian Church and Presbyterian Women. She taught Sunday school for many, many years and studied the Bible extensively. She was a member of the University of Washington Alumni Association and of the Sac City Fortnightly and Current Events Club. Jane was a former member of the American Association of University Women. Jane greatly valued education and heartily agreed with the message of her favorite bumper sticker, which read, "If You Think Education Is Expensive, Try Ignorance." She was an avid reader and also consulted the encyclopedia, dictionary, and other resource books on a regular basis, whenever she wanted more information. Both Jane and Harley tutored elementary students in the Sac City School system after their retirements. Jane believed in the equality of all peoples and strived to improve social justice for all. She actively worked in support of the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s, attempting to gain equal legal rights for women.
Jane and Harley enjoyed many trips overseas. They visited Yugoslavia, Greece, Italy, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Morocco, Czech Republic, Chile, Peru, the Soviet Union, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand. Jane described the city of Dubrovnik, in the former Yugoslavia, as one of the most beautiful cities she had ever seen. Jane also traveled extensively in the United States and Canada. She shared her love of history with her three children. On their yearly trips west to visit Jane's mother in Seattle, the family explored Lewis and Clark Expedition historical sites, stopped at every historical marker they saw, and spent many hours on numerous occasions visiting the Custer Battlefield (Battle of the Little Big Horn). Harley and Jane took their last trip abroad in 1996 to Germany and the Czech Republic. Their last extended trip within the United States was to Phoenix, Arizona, in January 2002 to visit friends and family.
Jane enjoyed reading and gardening. She loved bird watching and studying nature. She corresponded with many childhood, college, and later friends on a regular basis. For well over 60 years, Jane and three of her lifelong friends, Phyllis Reeves Wright Jackson of Seattle, Pat Butterworth Fish of Seattle, and Carolyn Bryant Peterson of Seattle and Boston, faithfully communicated via "Round Robin" letters. Other dear friends, with whom she visited and corresponded for nearly a lifetime, include Mary Power Myers of Seattle and Portland, Oregon, a dear friend since pre-school, Mary Jane Windsor Naechther of Seattle, Anita Moen of Issaquah, Washington, Ruth Bengsten Jackson, currently of St. Paul, Minnesota, who was born on the exact same day as Jane and with whom Jane became friends in junior high school in Seattle, Virginia Level of Seattle, Ruth Fjelstad of Decorah, Iowa, who was in graduate school at the University of Iowa with Jane, and many others. In addition to her family and friends, Jane enjoyed many feline companions over the years, especially Big Bob, Three Paws, and Cali. Bigfoot was her constant companion the last two years Jane was in her own home.
Jane enjoyed seeing her children and grandchildren and following their activities. She was especially proud of their educational achievements. Jane was blessed to have children and grandchildren who enjoyed returning to the farm near Sac City for visits. The grandchildren loved visiting Grandma Jane and Grandpa Harley many times each year as they grew up and have continued to return to Sac City whenever they can.
Jane passed away at Park View Care Center on February 18, 2011, after a long illness, with her eldest child by her side. Jane is survived by her children Carolyn Ashbaugh, Dr. Mark Ashbaugh, and Elaine Ashbaugh, J.D., and by her grandchildren Brandt, Derek, Karl, and Laura Amlie. She is also survived by her cousin Thorwald (Tory) Esbensen of Sedona, Arizona, formerly of Minnesota, her son-in-law Brandt Nicholas (Nick) Amlie, and by brother- and sisters-in-law Dr. R.E. and Shirlee Ashbaugh of Rockwell City, Iowa; Veda Ashbaugh Steadman of Ft. Collins, Colorado; Lois Ashbaugh Stevenson of San Antonio, Texas, and Harriet Ashbaugh Johnson of Minnesota and Texas. She is survived by many nieces and nephews. In addition to enjoying visits from her children and grandchildren, Jane especially appreciated visits by her niece Suzy Hall and family of Ostrander, Ohio; her nephew Scott Ashbaugh of Colorado and Iowa; and nephew Ernie Johnson and wife Patti of Minnesota.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Harley Ashbaugh, in 2006. She was also preceded in death by sisters-in-law Dr. Vera Ashbaugh Cass in 2006 and Vivian Ashbaugh Zipperian in 2001. She was preceded in death by her dear friends Jeanette and John Kenzy of Early and later Storm Lake, Iowa, and by Dorothy and Ralph Dewey of Sac City and later Burlington, Iowa.
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