Jane Troth Jones

Jane Troth Jones, 95, beloved mother, grandmother, aunt, teacher, friend and community volunteer, passed away peacefully in Bellevue on June 23.  Born in 1920 to Evelyne and Grover Troth, Jane grew up in Centralia, WA, attaining Golden Eaglet in Girl Scouts and graduating from Centralia High School in 1938, playing piano, organ, bugle, French horn and string bass, in addition to singing.  At Central Washington College she earned a BA in music education.  After World War II, she married W. Howard Jones;  they settled in Eugene, OR, and had three daughters, all of whom graduated from South Eugene High School.

Jane was Elementary Music Coordinator for the Eugene School District 4J for nearly 17 years.  She earned a master of music education degree (her thesis nicknamed “From Drones to Tones by Jones,”) at Central Washington (now) University in 1962, was divorced, and, in 1972, joined the faculty of her alma mater, where she taught elementary music education for 13 years, attaining the rank of full professor.  In Ellensburg she was active in Altrusa, the Presbyterian Church, and, after her retirement from CWU, in the Literacy Project, for which she was honored by Washington’s governor in 1991.

Jane’s unbridled energy led her to two sabbatical years of post-graduate study abroad: in Germany (1970-71,) and in England (1978-79.)  In her spare time she enjoyed gardening, painting ceramics, sewing, crocheting, doing macramé, photography, tracing her Troth family history, traveling and cooking (her peppermint divinity, pflaumenkuchen, and sweet chili were legendary.)

Jane moved to Seattle in 2001.  She spent her last nine years at Tina’s Exceptional Care (an adult family home) in Bellevue.  She was predeceased by her brother William (Bill) Dewain Troth.  She is survived by her daughters (in Seattle,) Donna Onat, Evelyn Williams Fruth, and (in Puerto Rico,) Kathleen Jones de Cleary (Paul Cleary,) and by two grandchildren, Patrick and Shannon Cleary, who are all comforted knowing that she received loving care in her last years, and that her life made a difference, not only to them, but to the hundreds of lives she touched as a beloved teacher, mentor and friend.

A memorial service honoring Jane’s life will be held at the Ellensburg Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, July 13 at 3 p.m.  In lieu of flowers, contributions are joyfully accepted to a scholarship fund for music education students at Central Washington University: CWU Foundation, 400 E. University Way, Ellensburg, WA 98926-7507.  Please indicate that the contribution is in memory of Jane Troth Jones.