Jane Roberta Marcus

Jane Roberta Marcus of Montclair NJ passed away with her family by her side on March 18, 2026. She was 69 years old and died of lung cancer. The daughter of Edward and Jessie Marcus, Jane was born in New York City and raised in Huntington, New York. Jane earned degrees from Ithaca College and Brooklyn Law School. Despite moving to New Jersey in 2002, she always claimed New York as her home state.

She devoted her entire legal career to representing low-income people as a free, legal aid lawyer. During the first 20 years of her career, she helped thousands of families remain housed and avoid homelessness in Long Island and Staten Island. After a ten-year "break" raising her two children, Jane worked at Disability Rights New Jersey and The Community Health Law Project where she improved the lives of countless people with disabilities.

In 2005, Jane founded the free Montclair Swap which she ran for over 20 years. The concept was simple: on a Friday afternoon, people dropped off thousands of pre-loved clothes, toys, and other household items, and a team of volunteers organized the donations. The next morning, excited "shoppers" picked out things to bring home with them. Each swap attracted about 200 community members in search of necessities or something fun. Jane's leadership, organizational skills and ability to attract volunteers helped over 15,000 people.

She loved to garden, tending to flowerbeds and her vegetable garden that nourished rabbits, and, occasionally, her family. Visitors often commented on how beautiful the yard looked, asking which landscaper the family used - it was all Jane. She dragged her kids on hikes and they're now avid hikers! Jane always found peace in water. She swam hundreds of laps each week, and played in Maine lakes and Atlantic waves each summer. She took up watercolor and pottery as an adult and drew inspiration from the leaves and flowers of Montclair.

She had an adventurous spirit. From bikepacking as a young woman through post-Cold War Hungary to schlepping a portacrib around France as a young parent, her excitement for new experiences never faded. She was steadfast in her desire to appreciate the world's beauty and was committed to sharing it with those she loved.

Jane is survived by her spouse of 32 years, Johnson M. Tyler, her children, Eliana Marcus-Tyler (and her husband Joel Johnson) and Ezra Marcus-Tyler, her siblings, Jed, Scott and Seth Marcus, and many nieces and nephews.

A private service will be held. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to any of these organizations (listed alphabetically):
1) The Berkshire Bird Observatory https://www.berkshirebirds.org/support-bbo/donate-cms 2) The Human Needs Food Pantry https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/HumanNeedsFoodPantry_1/donationtribute.html
3) Toni's Kitchen https://toniskitchen.org/give-money/