Jane Trainor

Jane I. Trainor, a sixty-year resident of Burlingame, died peacefully on April 24th. It was a warm spring morning in the Easter season, very much her kind of a day. She lived a full and accomplished life as a parent, grandparent, teacher, neighbor, choir member, and supporter of the arts. Many called her a dear friend and admired her grace, resilience, and quiet faith. Jane Rita Irwin was born on March 31, 1923 in New Rochelle, New York, the third child of Edward and Helen (nee Klotz) Irwin. She attended Blessed Sacrament School and The Ursuline School. In third grade she met Lucy Reilly and Mary Jane Kann. They remained best friends throughout their lives. In lieu of college, Jane headed for the bright lights of New York City. She attended the Woods Secretarial School and then worked for several companies in Manhattan. McKinsey and Company sent her to San Francisco in April 1945 to assist in the opening of a new West Coast office. Not long after, she met Ed Trainor, a native San Franciscan and graduate of the University of San Francisco and Hastings College of the Law. They were married in September 1947 and settled in San Francisco, first in the Marina and later in the West Portal neighborhood. Jane took on motherhood with gusto, raising five children: Ned, Mary Ellen, Jack, Barbara, and Carolyn. In 1959, she and her family moved out of the fog to Burlingame. She never lost her appreciation for a place where the sun rose in the morning and roses grew in the garden. In the late 1960's, Jane returned to work as an executive assistant at Mercy Burlingame. Several years later she became a teacher's aide in the Burlingame Schools. For almost twenty years she taught primary school reading at Hoover and Franklin Schools. She loved the children and her fellow faculty members, and they in turn loved her. Jane's love of music, nurtured by the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts she heard as a child, inspired her to attend numerous cultural events in San Francisco and the Peninsula. For these events as well as travel adventures, she was often accompanied by her dear friends, Barbara Gorman and Jackie Murphy. She sang as an alto in the choir of Our Lady of Angels where she enjoyed the company of music directors and fellow singers. Jane deeply appreciated her neighbors on Poppy Drive, especially Bobbie Isola, Dorothy Miller, Anneke Gaenslan, and Mark Hundley. She was married for 34 years to Ed Trainor, who died in 1981. Despite adversity, she loved him immensely. In the 1990's, she reconnected with a former neighbor, Al O'Dea of San Mateo, with whom she shared many happy occasions. Jane is survived by Ned and his wife, Jennifer, of Oakland, California; Jack and his wife, Colleen, of Tacoma, Washington; Barbara Peterson and her husband, Greg, of Sacramento, California; and Carolyn Trainor, of Cambridge, England; grandsons Alex, Patrick, John, Matt, Will, and Thomas; granddaughters Katie, Cathy, Jane, Margaret, Julia, and Isabelle; and great-grandchildren, Tristan, Henry, and Winn. She was preceded in death by her husband and her daughter, Mary Ellen. A Celebration of Life and Funeral Service will be held on Friday, May 17th, at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Angel's Church in Burlingame. A reception will follow. The family wishes to thank friends, neighbors, and caregivers who reached out to Jane in her later years. Any charitable donations in her name could be directed to the St. Vincent de Paul Society or the Kohl Mansion Auxiliary.