Jane Kelso

KELSO, Jane
Nov 21, 1928-Jan 12, 2007


Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, friend, teacher, counselor, lawyer, and colleague, Jane Kelso passed away peacefully on January 12, 2007. She is survived by Charles, her soulmate and life partner of 53 happy years; her four children, Kevin, Randall, Paige, and Clark, and her 11 grandchildren, who knew her as ''Momo.'' Jane was the first female sports editor of her high school's newspaper in Indianapolis, Indiana, and then was President of the Independent Women's Association at the University of Illinois, where she earned her bachelor's degree in 1949. At a time when women were virtually unrepresented in the legal profession, she earned her Juris Doctorate from Indiana University in 1953, graduating at the top of her class. A life devoted to education, Jane taught 2nd and 7th grades, as well as Science, at Orchard Country Day School in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1964 to 1978. During this time, she collaborated with Dr. B.F. Skinner of Harvard University to prepare teacher materials as part of his handwriting skills program for young children. After moving to Sacramento, Jane served as Dean of Students and Director of Admissions at Pacific McGeorge from 1982 until 2001. In that role, she was an academic counselor to thousands of Pacific McGeorge students. Kelso took a leadership role in many national legal organizations. She was associate director for a research study of part-time legal education for the Association of American Law Schools and director of a federal grant project to develop computer instructional materials related to legal problems of the elderly. From 1981 to 1983, she served as a consultant to the California Committee of Bar Examiners on performance testing. In the late 1990s, she was a member of the Students Services Committee of the ABA Section on Legal Education. Funeral services will be private. A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m., Friday, January 26th in the Lecture Hall on the Pacific McGeorge campus, 3200 Fifth Avenue, Sacramento 95817. For more information, please call 916 739-7104.