June 11, 1939-April 3, 2016.Jane S. Entwistle, loving wife, mother and grandmother, passed away peacefully on April 3 in Colorado Springs after an 11-year battle with primary progressive aphasia.
She was born in San Jose, Calif., on June 11, 1939, the daughter of John and Gladys Sinnott.
Jane graduated from Lincoln High School in San Jose, Calif., in 1957. She entered UCLA as a member of the Gifted Women Class of 1961 study program and attended UCLA her freshmen year, where she pledged Alpha Phi Sorority. She then transfered to Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., from which she graduated in 1961 with a major in English and literature. It was at Wheaton, in her junior year registration line, that she met Larry Entwistle, her future husband.
Following graduation, Jane continued her studies in education at San Jose State University and earned an MA at National-Lewis University. She then embarked on a 40-year teaching career spanning secondary schools in Pasadena, Calif.; District 11 in Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Wheaton, Ill., until retiring in 2004, when she was honored as “Teacher of the Year” for District 200. Jane taught junior high U.S. history and senior high honors English; she truly loved teaching, and students both respected and loved her in return.
Jane and Larry were married on Aug. 4, 1961, in San Jose, Calif., and then lived in Pasadena and Sunnyvale, Calif.; Colorado Springs and Pagosa Springs, Colo.; and Wheaton, Ill., before retiring back to Colorado Springs, Colo., in 2004.
With a smile that lit up a room, Jane treasured relationships with family and friends. She loved history, especially U.S. history and her own family story of Swedish origin. A voracious reader who wrote prodigiously, her output of letters and cards was legendary. Jane also took a great interest in traveling and visited over 25 countries.
She was very active in Young Life and her church in each place in which she lived. Jane’s 76 years epitomized the “Life Well Lived.”
Jane is survived by her husband of 55 years, Larry, of Colorado Springs; two sons, Brooks, of Singapore, and Tyler, of New Canaan, Conn.,; two wonderful daughters-in-law, Laura and Susan; along with four amazing grandchildren, Bryanna, Kayla, Ashley and Finn.
A memorial service will take place on Thursday, April 14, at 1 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 219 East Bijou St., Colorado Springs. Reception to follow.
The family would like to thank Sharon Gaines and her wonderful staff at A Caring Angel, and the exceptional teams at Pike’s Peak Hospice and Morningstar Memory Care at Bear Creek for taking such great care of Jane.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made “In Honor Of Jane Entwistle” to Young Life, www.younglife.org; Room To Read, www.roomtoread.org; or the Northwestern University Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center, www.brain.northwestern.edu/about/giving.html.
