Jane Edwards Skillin

Jane E., a resident of Montclair for more than eighty years, died peacefully at Van Dyk Manor (Montclair) on Thursday, November 2.  She was 97 years old. Jane attended Lacordaire Academy and Immaculate Conception School.  She graduated from Montclair State University in 1941, later earning her Teacher Librarian Certificate there.  After raising five children and three foster children, Jane worked as a librarian at the Bellevue Avenue Branch in Montclair from 1970-2000. Following her retirement, Jane fostered two young Vietnamese refugees and volunteered for Meals on Wheels, Montclair Senior Care, and a Newark soup kitchen.  Her "Letters to the Editor" were regularly published by the Montclair Times. Jane was predeceased by her husband, Edward S. Skillin, the former Editor and Publisher of Commonweal magazine.  She is survived by her five children, her three foster children, six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.  A Mass will be offered in her memory at St. Cassian Church, 187 Bellevue Ave., Upper Montclair, on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 10am.  In lieu of flowers, Jane requested donations be made to: St. Joseph's Indian School, Box 300, Chamberlain, SD 57325. Arrangements were entrusted with Gaita Memorial Home, Little Falls.