Jane Tomlinson Hanes

1929 - 2025

Jane Tomlinson Hanes

Jul 19, 1929 - Oct 18, 2025

On October 18, 2025, Jane Tomlinson Hanes parked her walker and danced into heaven to the tune of Duke Ellington's "Satin Doll." Waiting there to celebrate her homecoming were her husband of forty three years, P. Frank Hanes, Jr., her parents Chester Bentley and Helen Bjork, her adoptive father, Sid Tomlinson, her brother Halstead Tomlinson, her grandparents, Johann and Josephine Bjork, her daughter-in-law Julia Hanes, and her seven beloved English bulldogs. She was 96 years old and proud of it. Jane was smart as a whip, and her mind and memory were sharp as a tack up until her final breath. It was hard to sneak something past her. She loved her family and friends fiercely, sometimes to the point of pain, but because we knew her, we have been changed for good.

Jane was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1929 on the eve of the Great Depression. She was strong-willed from day one, the product of sturdy Vermonter and Swedish stock. She and her mother lived in Brooklyn with her beloved Grandpa Bjork until her mother married Sid Tomlinson of High Point, N.C., who adopted her and brought her south. She graduated from Women's College in Greensboro with a B.A. in art. Shortly thereafter, she met the love of her life, P. Frank Hanes Jr., on a blind date, and they were married on September 30, 1950.

Jane and P. Frank settled in Winston-Salem to build their life together. Jane loved being married and making a home for her family. She ran a tight and tidy ship, and to keep it that way she encouraged her kids to play outside, which engendered in them a lifelong love of nature and the curiosity to explore. Every year she would pack up the family and move for the summer to Roaring Gap, where she enjoyed entertaining, playing tennis, and tending to her beautiful flower beds. She loved shopping for and wearing pretty clothes, she loved to dance, she was an avid bridge player and could solve a crossword puzzle in no time. She adored every one of the seven English Bulldogs she owned during her life. In the 1980's she worked at George Shipp Travel Agency and became a world traveler. She and P. Frank discovered the Masai Mara in Kenya, which was their favorite place outside of North Carolina, and they took their children there on safari several times.

Throughout her life Jane was actively engaged in Winston-Salem's civic life. She was a member of the Junior League and pursued her passion for the arts by volunteering with the Civic Ballet in the production of their 1964 Dance Festival. She painted scenery for plays produced by the Children's Theater of The Little Theater and took her children to all the plays. She was a founder of Forsyth Country Day School, raising funds and serving on the original Board of Directors. Later in life she served on the Board of the Piedmont Opera and was awarded the Beverly Sills Award in 2009 for her support and contributions to that organization. In 2016, she purchased a house at 636 Holly Avenue and gave it to the Piedmont Opera for its headquarters.

More than anything else, Jane loved her four children, nine grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. She considered them to be her greatest legacy and contribution to the benefit of the world. Her children are Jane Motsinger (Stephen) of State Road, Beth Powell (Dave) of Sneads Ferry, P. Frank Hanes III (Marianna MacIntyre) of Lake Lure, and Sid Hanes (Janet) of Winston-Salem. Her grandchildren are Daniel and Hanes Motsinger, Read Plott (Alyssa), Nancy Ess (Joel), P. Frank Hanes IV (Leanna), Alice Jennings, Catherine Cody (Holt), Sydney (Winn Walker) and Josie Hanes. Her great-grandchildren are Bentley Jennings, Curtis Stannard, Julian Ess and Samuel Plott.

Our family is grateful to her longtime assistants and companions, Lynne Miller and Donna Cropps, and to Alejandro Almaguer for lovingly tending her gardens. We deeply appreciate the excellent care our mother received from Piedmont Home Health, especially Kimberley Williams, Tangala Mims, Kim Coachman and Lashanda Wilkes. And we are indebted to Mountain Valley Hospice for enabling her to leave this realm on her own terms from her own home.

A visitation will be held on Saturday, November 1st from 11 to 12:30 at Salem Funeral Home at 2951 Reynolda Rd., Winston-Salem. A private family burial will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Bullies 2 the Rescue, 323 Unionville Indian Trail Rd., Suite B, Indian Trail, N.C. 28079, or Piedmont Opera, 636 Holly Ave., Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101. Condolences may be shared online at www.salemfh.com.

Salem Funeral & Cremation Service

2951 Reynolda Rd., Winston-Salem, NC 27106