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BORN
1942
DIED
2023
Jane Barnes Obituary
Jane will always be a sui generis writer. She received fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Virginia Humanities Foundation, the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress and the Black Mountain Institute. She published two novels-I, Krupskaya: My Life with Lenin and Double Lives-and a memoir, Falling in Love with Joseph Smith: My Search for the Real Prophet. She also wrote and produced documentaries for American Experience, American Masters, and Frontline. She once said of writing that it was "inchoate searching in heartfelt darkness." This is also how she approached reading, friendship, family, the natural world, religion, and love.
Jane is beloved by friends and family so legion it is impossible to list them all here. She is the sister of Peter Barnes and his wife Jan Barnes of Cockeysville, Maryland; Tracy Barnes and his wife Elizabeth Rodgers of Watertown, Massachusetts; and Linda Barnes Aaron and her husband Stephen Aaron of Florence, Massachusetts. She is the mother of Maud Casey of Washington, D.C., and Nell Casey of Brooklyn, New York; and mother-in-law of Jesse Drucker and grandmother (Gigi) to Hank and Eve Drucker.
A special thank you to the following for their care and love for Jane over the last few years: her Charlottesville community of friends who made it possible for her to live at 719 Bolling Avenue for as long as she was able, Mark Evans, Tanya Pracher, Samantha Fields, her caregivers Jill Collier, Tutlenia (T) Garner, Renee Tinnell. An extra special thank you to Jane's primary caregiver, the extraordinary Tarsha Monroy, and her family.
A service will be held at Sojourner's Church on September 9 from 3 to 4:30 p.m.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of the Piedmont (https://hopva.org/donate-online-now/) and American Bird Conservancy (https://act.abcbirds.org/a/donate).
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.abettercremation.org
Memories and Condolences
for Jane Barnes
6 Entries
Duncan Choate Spencer (Y-62)
February 18, 2026
Love and miss You Jane --remembering The Island with JCasey, dearest friend Peter, Tracy B. My Immortal ones.. Duncan Choate Spencer who is still in DC onnCapitol Hill and still rowing..
Judy Renner Brucker
September 9, 2023
Maud and Nell, my heart is sad for you all. I loved your mom so much! She taught me, as a young working mom, that it´s okay to feel like you are losing your mind . She taught me about gardening in my pajamas and we had long, passionate disagreements about the justice system when I was still naive. Wine in our gardens was a weekly ritual and she helped bake my youngest son´s (Alex) first birthday cake with Max, my oldest. I so wish she could see my sons grown up and wildly successful in Brooklyn and Bloomington. She loved you two fiercely! My times with her on Ridgewood Terrace are absolutely treasured!! Love, Judy Renner ( now Brucker)
Matt and Donna Lambert
September 9, 2023
We will miss Jane a great deal and send our condolences to her family and all those who loved her and valued her friendship.
Kathleen Zurkowski
September 8, 2023
Nell and Maude, I had the pleasure of being in a writing group with your mother in Bloomington, IL during the time she was living with Janet McNew. She was royalty in exile! Such a bright, fun, non-judgmental person who gave all of us fledgling writers support. I have never met such an accomplished person who was so humble. There was not a snobby bone in her body. She laughed at the funny parts of my poems and stories and listened to me as I tried to navigate my ambivalence about having children. She even wanted to do a documentary about me and my childless-by-choice position. Though we were 18 years apart in age, I never once felt that. It was delightful to be in her company and to hear the stories she told about working with a crew on the documentary about the Polish pope. She will be missed!
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Mona Gardner
September 6, 2023
Jane was a remarkable, unforgettable person-gifted, witty, fiery, energetic, sophisticated, and fascinating in every way imaginable. But Maud and Nell, you were always the center of Jane´s life. As you think of your mother now, I wish you moments of joy in the midst of your sadness. That´s what Jane would want.
Jackie Maupin
September 5, 2023
Thinking of you in this sad time.
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