Jane Guthrie Beale

Jane Guthrie BEALE 1920 ~ 2011 Jane Guthrie Beale died peacefully on February 8, 2011 at the age of 90. Born on August 19, 1920 in New Albany, Indiana to Pearl and John Andrew Smith Guthrie, Jane was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, and a pianist and music educator. Jane married James MacArthur Beale on August 18, 1945, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington, D.C. They were blessed with 65 years of marriage. Jim passed away on November 4, 2010. Jane attended Wellesley College, graduating in 1943. She studied at Radcliffe University, leaving her graduate work in 1945 to marry Jim, who was a composer. They met in a music class at Harvard, and enjoyed a life together in music. On a number of occasions, Jane's performances included her husband's compositions. She completed her A.M. degree in Music from Harvard University in 1960. Jane began her career at the University of Louisville, where she taught piano from 1945-48. In 1948 they moved to Seattle where Jim joined the UW School of Music faculty. Jane taught music at Helen Bush School in the early 1950's, and gave private piano lessons while her daughters were growing up. During the early 1960's, she wrote the program notes for the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. She also taught piano at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh (1969-70) and at Central Washington University in 1973-74. She loved to entertain, giving many dinner parties, after-concert parties, and student recitals over the years. In her 70's, Jane started a desktop publishing company for the music of northwest composers and books of her piano teaching method. Until she was 85, she continued to perform chamber music with a cellist for community groups. In 2010 she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Music Teachers Association of Washington. Jane and Jim loved to travel around the United States and Europe, and took the family to live in France for a year in 1958-59. In the 1980's and 90's they spent part of each year at a home in Sun City West near Phoenix, swimming and traveling around the southwest. Jane was preceded in death by her beloved husband Jim, and by her grandson John Kavanaugh Costello. She is survived by her daughters Eleanor Harrison, Harriet Beale, Sarah Phillips; grandchildren Mary Susan Wilson, Peter Kerrick (Annie Pelletier), Beth Orler (Mark), and Bonnie Verwey; and great-grandsons James Orler and William Kerrick. A memorial service in her honor will be held on March 5, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. at the University Unitarian Church, 6556 35th Ave NE. Donations in her memory may be made to the University of Washington School of Music Fund, 98195.