Jane Elizabeth DeBrock

Jane Elizabeth DeBrock passed away peacefully on September 24, 2025, in Bellingham, WA, leaving behind a life richly lived, deeply loved, and generously shared.

Born on May 19, 1941, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Jane was one of three children of Elizabeth Rosa Darbyshire Muskett Ree and Henry James Clipesby Muskett "Jim." She grew up in West Vancouver, near the beach, where the natural beauty of the sea and mountains shaped her love of the outdoors, learning, and adventure.

Full of energy, from a young age Jane was active in Brownies, Girl Guides, and Sea Rangers, took ballet lessons, and spent countless hours hiking and camping in the wilderness of British Columbia. While in college, she joined the Varsity Outdoor Club, where she formed friendships that would last a lifetime. Together they climbed, skied, danced, camped, and created enduring bonds. The group continues to hold semi-annual reunions to this day.

Jane was an exceptional student, graduating in 1958 from West Vancouver Senior Secondary School in an accelerated program that allowed her to complete four years in three. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Nursing from the University of British Columbia in 1964, and decades later received a master's degree in Psycho/Social Nursing from the University of Washington in 1991. Her master's thesis examined the effects of SIDS on marriages, reflecting both her intellectual rigor and her compassion. Jane brought all of her education, tenacity, and empathy to her nursing career as Head Nurse in Psychiatry and later as Head Nurse in Osteoporosis Research conducting clinal trials, both at the University of Washington.

One of Jane's most cherished adventures took place in 1968, when she and her then-husband, Byron Olsen, traveled in a VW van through Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, continuing to India and Nepal. In Nepal they joined friends David and Linda Kennedy, hiking into the interior of the country, reaching the rarefied air of Khumjung at 14,000 feet, the last village before Everest Base Camp.

In 1983, Jane married Leslie DeBrock, in Seattle, WA. Soon afterward, she completed her master's degree and began her greatest adventure when she and Leslie adopted their son, John. Jane was a devoted, adoring mother, and a fierce "mamma bear" if anyone even thought of mistreating John.

Throughout life, Jane continued to grow and create. She became a Master Gardener, and was a devoted member of a close-knit book club for more than 25 years. In her retirement she designed the floor plan for the home she and Leslie built near Bellingham and later took up watercolor painting, applying her determination and focus to quickly develop her talent.

Jane was known for her perseverance. When she committed to something, she followed it through. She was intelligent, intuitive about people, and a trusted confidant to her husband. Above all, she was steady, thoughtful, and deeply loyal to the people she loved.

Jane was predeceased by her brother, Richard "Dick" Muskett, who died as a teenager, and by her parents. She is survived by her husband, Leslie DeBrock; her son John DeBrock, his wife, Jenny, her granddaughters, Olivia and Madelyn; and her sister, Ann Avery (Muskett), who resides in Nanaimo, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island.

A Celebration of Jane's Life and reception will be held on Saturday, January 10, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship, 1207 Ellsworth Street, Bellingham, Washington.

May we all approach life with the intelligence, courage, love and spirit of adventure that Jane embodied.