Jane D. Ortel

Jane D. Ortel, age 90, of Wakefield, RI, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family, on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022. Winona Jane was born on May 20, 1932, in Narberth, PA, to Loraine Musselman and William James Drennen. Jane attended Gettysburg College (class of 1954), where she majored in English and was active in the Student Christian Association, becoming its first woman president. Jane was always proud of her membership in the academic, merit-based Phi Beta Kappa Society, whose passion for lifelong learning very much aligned with her own. She remained close friends with her Delta Gamma sorority sisters. Most importantly, at Gettysburg, she met the love of her life, R. Wade Ortel, whom she married in 1955, after receiving her MA in education from Goucher College, with the aid of a Ford Foundation Fellowship. While her young husband completed medical school, Jane taught first grade. In 1960, Jane and Wade embarked with baby Dee (born 1959, and then Jo, born 1961) on a two-year, once-in-a-lifetime experience above the Arctic Circle, in Kotzebue, Alaska. A true partnership buoyed by idealism and a commitment to service to others, Jane created a loving, welcoming home filled with music, books and new friends while Wade cared for Native Alaskans in Kotzebue and in 20 remote villages across 70,000 square miles as part of the U.S. Public Health Service. From 1962-67, the Ortels lived on Block Island, twelve miles off the coast of Rhode Island, where Wade served as the Island doctor. Son Jim was born in 1965. Jane and Wade cherished the Island friendships they made (many centered around their love of chamber music and art), and fell under the spell of the Island’s natural beauty. In 1967, the family moved to Williston, Vermont, where they lived for ten very happy years. In addition to activities as a fulltime mom and partner to Wade, Jane joyfully took up cross-country skiing, continued her voracious reading and book groups, and played chamber music with other amateur musicians. She treasured family camping vacations that included her intrepid father, canoeing and sailing (particularly at Ricker Pond State Park, Vermont), and the meaningful community the family found in the Williston Federated Church. After Jim entered school, Jane returned to part-time nursery-school teaching. In 1977, the Ortels moved to Wheeling and subsequently Morgantown, West Virginia, where Jane continued her amateur music and volunteer work (Meals on Wheels, AFS), and Jane and Wade rekindled their early interest in Quakerism. In 1990, the couple retired to Block Island, where they volunteered at the library, engaged in political activism with the Quakers, and enjoyed living near Jim and wife Marion’s young family. They subsequently moved to Wakefield, RI, on the mainland, to take fuller advantage of concerts and other cultural events in New England. It was during this time that Jane increased her involvement in music, participating in numerous summer programs in Maine and Vermont. Jane’s cheerful, positive spirit touched many lives. Her genuine interest in others enabled her to make new friends easily, and nurture close, lifelong friendships – stretching all the way back to her elementary and junior high school years. Her love for fellow human beings was matched only by her sense of gratitude and wonder about the world around her. But it was her husband and family to which Jane was most devoted. From the time they met, she and Wade shared a remarkable love story, rooted in profound mutual respect and admiration, common values, and intellectual curiosity. They spent many hours discussing political affairs, science, history, art, music, and the many ways our lives are intertwined personally and globally. Humor and wit were also constants in their lives; they truly enjoyed each other’s company. Jane entered into her children and grandchildren’s interests, too, enthusiastically supporting their choices, offering encouragement and celebrating their achievements. Jane is survived by Wade, her husband of 67 years, daughters Dee Sparks and Jo Ortel, son Jim and daughter-in-law Marion S. Ortel; grandchildren Lucas Wade and Tory Adna Sparks, and Brooke Stephan and Wade Christian Ortel. She is preceded in death by her parents and brother Robert James Drennen.

Jane D. Ortel

October 13, 2022