Jane E. Mace

Jane Ely Mace passed away peacefully on January 27, 2023, in Palm City, Florida, after a year- long battle with breast cancer. She was surrounded by her children and her friends from the Sandhill Cove community. Her remains will be interred in Pine Hill Cemetery of Westfield, Massachusetts later this year.
Jane Morrison Ely was born in Westfield, Massachusetts on September 9, 1923. She attended Westfield High School and went on to Wellesley College majoring in Economics. Jane married three times and had a long-term companion. Her first love, Thorney Gillett of Southwick, Massachusetts, was a pilot who died over Germany 1944. She married Thomas Wolcott in 1946, and they moved to Panama where they had an import/export business. After a divorce, she married Walter Lewis Goodall Mace, a British citizen working with Royal Dutch Shell in Caracas, Venezuela, where the family lived until 1958. Moves to Indonesia, England, Connecticut, and Texas followed. Wacco, as he was known, died in 1997 in Houston. In 2003 Jane moved to Florida to be with Allen Bibby, a family friend from Venezuela days who had lost his wife. In 2006 the couple moved to the retirement community of Sandhill Cove, where he passed away in 2007. Born in the presidency of Calvin Coolidge, she has seen 17 presidents.
Jane's life has been focused on raising, nurturing, and supporting her family. She has lived in, Panama, Venezuela, Indonesia, England, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Texas, and Florida. Always a traveler, adventurer, and passionate learner, she has visited at least 100 countries. Intelligent, engaging in manner and always sharing her smile, she was educated, social, a Christian, and a lifelong Democrat.
Kind and caring, she has been one of those people who make the earth a better place. And she has always been beautiful.
Jane had a special talent for always being a sunny, steady, reliable, confident person who showed her love and caring with no reservations. Whether meeting a head of state or a refugee, her demeanor said, "We can be friends." Her equanimity and inner strength kept those around her looking forward whenever times got hard.
She was a committed Episcopalian, active in all aspects of her spiritual life, from the vestry and Altar Guild to being a server and reader. She served as a delegate to the national convention several times. In each home, Jane always played a key part in creating the spirit of her community.
As the Daughter of a country lawyer and the niece of a governor of Massachusetts (Ely), she has always had a keen sense of people and events local, national, and international. She remained socially conscious and engaged until she passed.
Jane is survived by her daughter Jennifer Wolcott of Vancouver, WA, her son Charley Mace of Golden, Colorado, and her daughter Trish Mace of Coos Bay, Oregon. She has eight grandchildren, and four great grandchildren, with one more expected soon.
May she rest in the Peace and Grace of the Lord in His Heavenly Kingdom.