Mary Jane Porter

1924 - 2020

Mary Jane Porter, age 95, died peacefully on the morning of 16 February 2020.

She was born on 21 August 1924 to Fred Iverne and Doris Doolittle Bolton. She graduated from the Northfield High School, and after attending the University of Massachusetts for one year, went to the nursing school in St. Johnsbury, Vermont to become a RN. She worked for more than thirty years at the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital in Brattleboro, Vermont, leaving as the Operating Room Supervisor. She then became charge nurse at Vernon Green Nursing Home in Vernon, Vermont. Because of her interest in antiques, she later became a guide at Old Deerfield in Massachusetts, serving until she was 88.

She was active in community affairs serving on the board of trustees of the Congregational Center Church and Holton Home in Brattleboro, Vermont and the Council on Aging in Northfield, Massachusetts. Surprising to her friends, she was the cook at Loafs and Fishes in Brattleboro, Vermont. She was also active in the Eastern Star and the Northfield Historical Society and an avid bridge player.

She is survived by her son, William T. Porter of Northfield and daughter Jane Porter Kolodner of Columbia, Maryland; two grandsons, William B. J. Kolodner of Christ Church, New Zealand, and Alexander R. Kolodner of Silver Springs, Maryland; a great grandson, Kian L. Kolodner of Christ Church, New Zealand and a great granddaughter, Lena Grey Kolodner of Silver Springs, Maryland. Her husband, William C. Porter, Jr. predeceased her in 1960.

A memorial service will be held in August in Northfield. Donations in lieu of flowers should be made to Northfield Council on Ageing.