Jane Werner

1935 - 2025

Jane Werner
03/08/1935 - 06/21/2025
Jane Leanse Werner, beloved mother, adored grandmother and cherished friend, passed away at her home in San Francisco on June 21, 2025.
Born in Minneapolis in 1935 to Rose and Robert Leanse, Jane grew up in Los Angeles, attending Wilshire Crest Elementary, John Burroughs Junior High and Los Angeles High. She attended UC Berkeley before obtaining her teaching credential at UCLA.
School was important to Jane, not just because she believed in education, but also because she made some of her dearest friends there. Betty Blue Watkins, Adria Peak Cowitt, Rochelle Miller, Mickey Caplan, Barbara Isackson, Louise Rosenberg and Lila Rich, all of whom remained Jane's close friends throughout life. Lila held a special place in her heart for introducing Jane to Jim, who she would marry and with whom she would create a family.
If Jane's friends were central to her life, her family was paramount. She was a devoted wife, daughter, sister, aunt, mother and grandmother, as well as a cousin who kept regular and meaningful contact with family far and wide, including Jeanette Stern Amid, Jeffrey and Judy Forrest, Peter Leanse, Deborah Leanse, and Peter and Robert Sipkins. She adored her four nephews, John (Julie), Tom (Barbara), Steve and Tim (Samantha), not only for their qualities as human beings, but also because they were living reflections of her two late brothers: Jay Leanse and David Leanse, whom she revered.
Jane loved beautiful things. She was always perfectly turned out: her clothes and jewelry were stylish, with a touch of the whimsical, and she knew how to bring magic to a tastefully decorated room. Later in life, exquisite orchids graced the tables of her homes. Her appreciation for fine objects and experiences was apparent in her extensive and thoughtful gift-giving, in her career in retail at Neiman Marcus and Tiffany & Co. and in the joy she experienced when dining out or traveling.
Jane will be sorely missed because her vivacity, ready smile and personal warmth were an invitation to join her in celebrating life.
A vast array of family and friends of special importance to Jane preceded her in death: sister-in-law Joyce Leanse, aunts Dorothy, Sylvia, Cele and Rae Leanse McDonald, cousins Myra, Sheldon and Sidney (Joy) Leanse, and dear friends Carol Ungar, Patty Battat, Carol Ann Edelman, May Annexton, Stanley Karatz, Jane Levinsohn, Jean Wildberg, Cecilia Newcomer, Ralph Cesari and Bill Isackson.
Jane is survived by sons Andrew (Debbie) and John (Andy, Peto), daughter Patricia (Ym) and grandsons Jim (Dana) and Rob (Mariana). She will be mourned by her dear cousin Roberta, who was her strongest link to her earliest days. She leaves behind friends Barbara Woodruff, Bea Kushner, Judy Nadel, Bobbie Friedman, Lynne Williams, Janice Sucherman, Betty Parodi, Suzy Holl, Lisa Lucarini-Fell, Richard Bastoni and Joyce Lambert.
Special thanks to Zayda Peña Monterrey and Joannie and Nancy Levinsohn, whose loving care brought ease and joy to Jane's final months, weeks and days.
Throughout our lives, Jane lit up our hearts; for the rest of our lives, her memory will do the same.
A celebration of Jane's life will take place in San Francisco later this year.