Jane Dorthy Dickinson

Jane Dorthy Dickinson

Mar. 30, 1953 - Feb. 7, 2022

Jane Dorthy Dickinson, age 68, passed away unexpectedly in her home on Monday, February 7, 2022.

She was a lifelong resident of Longview, Washington, and is survived by her daughter, Tashera Dickinson (me), her son-in-law Martin Hoseneder, her Granddaughter Jaidah Dickinson, her Granddaughter-in-law Lauren Davis, and her sister Nancy Vargo.

My mom Jane loved her family and God, more than anything in this world. For most of her life, my mom had been sick with several debilitating illnesses. The unimaginable pains she experienced in the past decade alone were enough to break anyone's spirit, but not my mom's. She was so brave and strong through it all. Mom lived her life as best she could with an open heart despite her life circumstances, her Faith never wavering.

Jane Dickinson was a single mother who, in her younger years, was a secretary for Cowlitz Wahkiakum Council of Governments until illness forced her into early retirement. I fondly remember waiting for her to come home from work each evening at 5:30 so we could play our silly make-believe games together. It was the highlight of each day for me.

Mom also loved watching vintage television shows from the 1950s through the 1980s. Every night she would watch Golden Girls and leave her bedroom door open so we could sing the intro song together. Then once the show was over, she would lull me to sleep with her angelic voice singing songs of airplanes and dragons from faraway lands that I would give anything to hear just one more time.

When I was in my early twenties, I became very sick while on vacation and my mom traveled across the country just to make sure I would get home safely; a journey I couldn't have made on my own. My mom's unwavering comfort during those difficult times offered me hope I thought I' d lost. And because of Mom, I eventually recovered and was able to go on to raise my own beautiful daughter.

When Mom was still able to walk, she would drive down to visit me at my craft shows. I don't know why I never told her, but I was always so grateful that she came to support me. She was my biggest cheerleader. I wish I had let her know how much that meant to me. I have so many regrets. But that's the thing about my mom: she loved me unconditionally and was always so proud of me.

As I write this obituary, I can vividly picture my mom sitting in her reclining chair, where she spent the majority of her adult life, watching television, ordering gifts for her family via mail-order catalogs, talking on the phone with friends, or writing cards to one of the many kids she helped sponsor in countries all over the world. I am reminded of the way my mom's face would light up with the purest of joy every time I walked through her front door. A memory which now fills me with a beautiful sadness that only the loss of someone you loved so deeply could make you feel. And for the rest of my days, every time I drive past her house and see the emptiness where she once sat, I will forever feel the pain from the loss of her presence.

I worry that over the next few years and decades, specific memories of my mom will fade; and, though heartbreaking, I'm told it's perfectly natural. One day, I may forget that, even though I'm an adult, she would still have a Valentine's Day basket filled with chocolates waiting for me. Or, one day, I may not recall how she used to send me sticker-laden greeting cards for every holiday imaginable. And, one day, I might not remember her beautiful face and loving smile as clearly as I do now.

It was Maya Angelou who said, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." And I so deeply want to believe that's true because even if my memories eventually fade, my mom made me feel truly loved and that is something I pray I will never forget.

I am so proud and grateful to have had Jane Dickinson as my mom. I love you mom. I always have, and I always will.