Margaret Jane Hunter

1935 - 2022

Margaret Jane Moorhead Hunter January 8, 2022. M. Jane Hunter was born on June 25, 1935, in Omaha, the only child of Paul and Margaret (Sorensen) Moorhead. She passed away on January 8, 2022. Jane was raised in the Florence neighborhood of Omaha and attended Florence Grade School, also attended by her mother. She graduated from North High School in 1953 as "Outstanding Girl Graduate" and entered Northwestern University, in Evanston, Illinois, in the fall of that year. During her college years, she was the Cherry Blossom Princess of Nebraska for the ceremonies in Washington, D. C. She was also named an Admiral of the Nebraska Navy at this time. After completing her B.S. in December, 1956, she immediately began teaching at Monroe Junior High in Omaha. In June of 1958, she married James D. Hunter; and after living and working in Omaha for one year, they moved to Alliance, his hometown. Their two sons, Jim and Jeff, were born shortly after. Jane returned to full-time teaching in 1967 at Alliance High School, where she continued teaching English and Speech until the family moved to Scottsbluff in 1970. She taught the 70-71 school year at Scottsbluff Junior High. In 1971, she completed her MA degree from the University of Northern Colorado and began teaching English and Reading at Nebraska Western College. In 1975, she received her Ed.D., also from UNC. She remained at NWC, later Western Nebraska Community College, throughout her career, retiring as Dean of Instruction in 1996. During the 1996-97 academic year, she and Jim lived in Chicago, where Jane served as Interim Associate Director of the Higher Education Commission of the North Central Association. Jane had been active in accreditation activities for many years, and in retirement, she did consulting on this topic for over ten years with her partner, the late Carroll Bennett of Ankeny, Iowa. Jane enjoyed traveling and reading and was active for 60 years in the P.E.O. Sisterhood, being a member over time in Chapters GC, GA, and FC. She was also very active on the Regional West Health Services Board from 2001 to 2014. She was a longtime member of St. Andrew's/St. Francis' Episcopal Church, where she was a member and chair of the Altar Guild. She also served for two years as Senior Warden, following a number of years on the Vestry, including time as Clerk of the Vestry. Jim passed away in March, 2016. Jane is survived by her sons James Paul (Sarah Dove) of Oak Park, IL, and Jeffrey Michael (Kimberly) of St. Charles, MO, and grandson James Otto (Kylie) of Kansas City, MO, and his mother, Carla Hunter, of Columbia, MO. Memorial service will be at 11:30am Saturday, April 30, 2022, at St. Francis Episcopal church in Scottsbluff with Father Mark Selvey officiating. The family respectfully requests that in lieu of any flowers, memorials in Jane's honor be made in care of the church.