Jane Tillinghast Morse

1937 - 2020

Clara "Jane" Tillinghast Morse of Marblehead, MA. and Wolfeboro, New Hampshire passed away peacefully on April 17, 2020, following a brief illness. She was 83. Jane was born in Newton, MA to the late Dorothy M. Gray and Arthur Phillips Tillinghast on January 26, 1937. She grew up in Newtonville, MA and enjoyed many summers at Camp Bendito in Maine, where she swam and taught horseback riding. She graduated from Newton High School and attended Colby Junior College. One summer, while working at the Langford House summer resort, Cape Porpoise, Maine as a desk clerk, she met and later married David W. Morse of Needham, MA. They had two children, Douglas and William. Jane decided to settle in Marblehead where she raised her two sons and made many friends along lifes path. She was a "true free spirit" who loved music, writing, animals of all kinds and was also an accomplished classical pianist. Her excellent penmanship complimented a life-long passion for poetry with heartfelt verses about nature and the meaning of life. Jane was descended from an early New England family with roots from England and the Providence Plantation, through John and Pardon("Molasses") Tillinghast. John Tillinghast received his B.A. from Cambridge University (1581-82) prior to becoming the rector of the Streat Parish Church in Sussex (1593 - 1624). Pardon Tillinghast (1622 - 1718) was a "cooper" ("an industry of great antiquity") who sailed from England and settled in the Providence Plantation Colony in 1643, where he later was responsible for building the first Providence wharf in 1680. "From this wharf as a cooper, merchant and ship owner, he conducted extensive transactions sailing the seas between colonial ports and the Indies." There were also scholars, librarians, captains of industry and other very accomplished people within her family too numerous to mention. Jane loved and attracted people from all walks of life, but had a special fondness for bohemians, artists and poets. She is predeceased by her parents, Dorothy and Arthur Tillinghast, close family and friend Moses Werman, her cousins Jennie (of Mexico) also Myra ("Buffy") of Danielson, Conn. also Charles of Burlington, Vermont and her close friend Emily Howard of Alton Bay, NH. She is survived by her sister Sarah Louise Brickley Brooks and husband Bob of Lavallette, NJ and nephews Scott and wife Anne, Kevin and John Brickley. She is also survived by her son Douglas Wilson Morse and his wife, Katherine Murray-Morse of Pasadena, CA, son William Tillinghast Morse of Marblehead, MA and his fiance Julie McGuire Setzer, her granddaughter Kristina Morse Gagliardi and her husband Mike Gagliardi and great grandson Nicholas "Nico" Gagliardi of Charleston, SC. She is survived by her former husband, David Morse of Orange City, Florida. Jane additionally leaves behind numerous relatives including her cousins Robert A. Tillinghast and family of Napa, CA and Chris Barclay of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. She also had a special friendship with neighbor Tammy Smith, an artist, with whom she shared wonderful laughs, Joanne and Stefano Mola of Sun City, Phoenix, AZ and Pat Lausier of Marblehead, her attorney, with whom she enjoyed many cups of coffee. Her motto in life was "question authority." She was the "life of the party" and will be missed! A special thank you to the Sutton Home for Women in Peabody, MA and its staff for their kindness and care of "Clara" Jane in recent years. Funeral arrangements are being made by the Tillinghast Family Funeral Home in Danielson, CT. A memorial service and celebration of her life will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Sutton Home for Women (non-profit), 7 Sewall Street, Peabody, MA, Attn. Barbara Amos, or to an animal charity of your choosing. tillinghastfh.com.