Jane Elizabeth Kister

1944 - 2019

Kister, Jane Elizabeth 10/18/1944 - 12/1/2019 Ann Arbor JANE ELIZABETH KISTER Jane Kister died peacefully, early in the morning of 1st December in St Joseph Mercy Hospital, following complications after major heart surgery in October. Her beloved step-daughter Karen was at her side. Jane Bridge was born on 18 October 1944 in Weybridge, England, the first child of Nigel and Margaret Bridge (nee Swinbank). In 1948 the family settled in London, and Jane grew up and went to school in there. At the age of 17, Jane was diagnosed as suffering from lupus ("systemic lupus erythematosus" or SLE), an incurable disease of the immune system which can attack any tissue or organ of the body. At the time, the doctors said she was unlikely to live beyond the age of 30. The disease stayed with her for the rest of her life, but was kept under control for much of the time. Jane had by this time won a scholarship to Somerville College, Oxford to read mathematics, but her academic career was briefly delayed by her illness. But she resumed it, got her first degree and her D. Phil, and soon gained a tenured post teaching math at Somerville, specialising in mathematical logic. In October 1977, she met James Kister, a mathematician from the University of Michigan who came to Oxford as a visiting professor. Within a week or two of meeting they were an item. When Jim's visit came to an end and he returned to Ann Arbor, Jane left Oxford with him. They married in England in July 1978. Jane never renounced her British citizenship, but she became a US citizen in 1992. After a brief visiting appointment at MIT, Jane started working as an editor at the distinguished academic journal Mathematical Reviews. She was a regular participant in the Logic Seminar at UM, where at one time she held a short-term Adjunct Professor position. She quickly moved to senior positions at Mathematical Reviews and held the position of Executive Editor from 1998 to her retirement in 2004. Meanwhile, she also built up a busy social life, making many new friends and entertaining them with good food and wine. After her retirement, Jane became an active member of the Faculty Women's Club, serving as President and Treasurer. Jane was a beloved member of the FWC, known for her intelligence, wit, and humbleness. She was credited with bringing in many new members to the club. Jane and Jim travelled extensively, to Europe including visits to England to visit family, but also to Australia and New Zealand, to China and elsewhere. Destinations with good wine were particularly favoured. Jane and Jim didn't have children together, but Jane's very special gifts of compassion, and the ability to relate closely and intuitively to all members of the wider family, whatever their age, were much in evidence. She would often say that it was a good thing she didn't have her own children as she'd have been much too anxious, but she was a devoted step-mother to Karen, step-grandmother to Jim and Leigh, and step great-grandmother to Avery, Sienna, Jude, Flint, and Ayla on one side of "the pond." On the other side of the Atlantic, Jane was a loving and caring sister to Rachel and Charlie, and a loving Auntie to Kath, Eleanor, Adam and Olly. She knew and loved Eleanor's boys Jacob, Isaac and Matthais, but sadly just missed out on meeting Kath's baby, Abe. The whole of the wider family will cherish fond memories of a unique person. Like no one else, Jane had an extraordinary capacity to keep everyone in mind, to know exactly what each member of the extended family was up to, like knowing where every piece on the chess board was; and to hold us all there in a supportive, even-handed and nonjudgmental way. From around 2016 Jim became increasingly ill and in need of care. Jane took this on single-handedly and it took all her time. She was devoted to the task. Following his death, she sadly survived him by little more than a year. A private service will be held shortly at St Andrew's Church, Ann Arbor, as well as a public Celebration of Life at UMMA in the spring, and a Memorial in Oxford, England in the summer. No flowers please, but any donations would be welcome to the Lupus Research Alliance, https://www.lupusresearch.org/