Jane K. Davidson

Into each life some rain must fall. Jane Kraft Davidson passed away on December 28, 2025 at home in Marshfield, Massachusetts surrounded by family. Jane was in hospice care after suffering from a decline in health exacerbated by several falls and surgeries. She is survived by her husband of almost sixty years, Timothy A. Davidson of Marshfield, as well as her children and grandchildren, Jennifer Angus and Nathan and Nicholas Angus of Jacksonville, Florida, Tad and Anna Davidson of Houston, Texas, and their children Timothy A. Davidson III and Juliette, as well as Jessica Davidson and her husband Kevin Morris and Jessica's children Michael and Carlos Nieto-Davidson of Grottoes, Virginia. Jane is also survived by a sister, Penny Kraft, of Holly Hill, Florida.

Jane Kraft was born June 30, 1942, in Xenia, Ohio. A new superhighway slated to cut through her family's farm motivated the Krafts to move to sunny, warm Hollywood Florida where Jane went to high school. She was well received there and became the class president. She and her family then moved to DeLand Florida near Daytona where her Dad, Edward Joseph Kraft opened a restaurant and raised orchids. Meanwhile, Jane enrolled in DeLand's Stetson University where she received B.A and M.A degrees from Stetson's College of Liberal Arts in 1964. She then took a job in a progressive public school system in Dover Delaware, where she helped integrate the school system, introduce the new concept of Middle School with a Humanities track to the community. Early on, it was clear that Jane was a trailblazer.

Here is where husband Tim Davidson came in the picture for the next sixty years. Fate placed them in adjacent apartments in the small State capital of Dover, Delaware … both of them displaced hundreds of miles from home as young professionals (and hippies) they decided to marry poste haste in the Spring of 1966 in Dover's Christ Episcopal Church. They knew they were right for each other.

With inspiration and support from Jane, Tim earned an MS in (Computer) Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Then their life as a couple took off. Jennifer Litchfield was born in 1970, Timothy Alvin II was born in 1972, and Jessica Brooke was born in 1974. Within four years she and Tim had three babies and moved from Delaware to Connecticut and finally settled in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Jane took all this in stride and looked for more challenges once her children entered school. She soon joined the League of Women's Voters, supported the Wellesley Recreation center, then was elected a board member and chair of the Wellesley Public School Board Committee, and even created a consulting partnership with Carol Tashjian, her dear friend, to assist school systems in the greater Boston area. She was an officer on the Wellesley Scholarship Committee and a founding member of the Wellesley Youth Commission.

Jane and Tim's final move was to Marshfield, Massachusetts where they settled in at Club Mud in Rexhame for a few decades. Jane was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Marshfield, where Tim still attends. She and Tim joined the Marshfield Historical Society Board and became more curious about our Colonial heritage. You might say Jane had returned to her roots with having several 1620 Mayflower passengers as antecedents. Further genetic research revealed earlier Virginia settlers in her line who arrived in Jamestown in 1607! She has lived up to the American promise of the pursuit of happiness by expending positive loving energy throughout her 84 years.

Jane will always have the love and devotion of her Timmy. She leaves a hole in the world, but she also leaves a world that she helped transform. Jane was generous to all- whether raising a family, loving and doting on her six grandchildren, inviting one more person to the dinner table, or building communities of love and friendship wherever she went. Yes, some rain, but mostly blessed clear skies and warmth.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Jane's memory may be made to the Marshfield Historical Society, Trinity Episcopal Church in Marshfield, MA, or to your charity of choice.

A memorial service and a celebration of life for Jane will be forthcoming.