Jane Thurston

Jane Thurston

Bluffton, SC - Jane Alice Thurston, 77, passed away on Christmas Day at her residence in the Memory Care unit of Bloom at Belfair in Bluffton, SC.

Jane was born on March 3, 1946 in Exeter, NH to Leonard and Viola (Stone) Thurston. She grew up in Exeter and graduated from Exeter High School in 1964. Jane earned her BS in Mathematics at Wells College in Aurora, NY in 1968 and later received her MSW from Plymouth State College in Plymouth, NH.

She is survived by her best friend and loving husband of 18 years, Charlie McCormack, and by her sisters, Claire Lyons of Hookset, NH and Faye Ellsworth of Brooksville, FL. She also is survived by her 4 children and 10 grandchildren: Ethan (Zoe) Frechette (Andrew, David, and Ethan, Jr.) of Etna, NH; Sarah Frechette Potts (Annie and Ellie) of Winston Salem, NC; Jacob (Jane) Frechette (Gavin, Emerson, Henry, and Asi) of Gladwyne, PA; and Eliza Frechette and Keith Camyre (Jackson Frechette) of Easthampton, MA; a stepson, Ben McCormack of Freeport, ME; and several nieces and nephews. Jane was predeceased by her parents, and by her brother Norman. Her first marriage ended in divorce.

Growing up, Jane spent summers at Bow Lake, NH and, after her children were born, at Harvey Lake in Vermont. She was an avid outdoorswoman and an excellent water and snow skier, and she passed on these skills to her children. Her early career involved raising her children in Haverhill, NH, a job she excelled at. She also worked over the years as an elementary school teacher, counselor, computer services consultant, and waitress, and was involved in countless volunteer activities.

In 1996, Jane moved to Portsmouth, NH and became a resident at the historic Rockingham Hotel Condominiums in downtown. Her unit was known as "The Treaty Room", referring to the role those rooms played during the 1905 peace negotiations that resulted in the Treaty of Portsmouth and the end of the Russo-Japanese War. Jane was very active in the condominium association over the years, serving on the board of directors for multiple terms, including as president, and working on numerous committees. She developed many lifelong friendships there.

It was while at the Rockingham that she and Charlie reunited. They had met on a blind date in 1961 and dated for the next 4 years, then went their separate ways. Almost 40 years later, a conversation with a mutual friend led to Charlie's contacting Jane and within a year they were married. For 13 years they lived part-time at the Rockingham and part time at Dataw Island, SC. They became full-time residents at Dataw Island in 2018.

Jane made the transition from fresh water lake to salt water tidal creek very smoothly and quickly became adept at training a growing contingent of grandchildren in the arts of crabbing, no-see-um aversion, and alligator spotting. Jane's greatest joy was her family and the time spent with her husband, children and 10 grandkids, and siblings. She was an outstanding knitter and crochet needleworker, and a wonderful baker. When not hosting, visiting, or traveling with family, Jane enjoyed reading, Sudoku, walking the beach, and all types of travel with Charlie, especially driving the blue highways all over this great country, and watching the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Jane's family would like to thank the staff at Bloom at Belfair Memory Care, the wonderful caregivers of Loving Arms Health LLC, and the nursing staff at Crescent Hospice who provided such loving and thorough care to our beloved wife, mother, sister, and grandmother during her decline.

Services will be announced later. If you wish, memorial donations may be made to Memory Matters, PO Box 22330, Hilton Head, SC 29925 or www.mymemorymatters.org/donate