Jane Ellen Abshire
Jane Ellen Abshire
December 21, 1953 - April 23, 2018
Jane Ellen Abshire was a pretty baby who arrived shortly before Christmas of 1953, just hours after midnight of her father‘s birthday. She was the youngest child of Dr. and Mrs. Gaulman Abshire. She had thick hair, large alert eyes, plump cheeks, and a tiny nose. Her family joked when she was a toddler that they could not find her nose to wipe it. She grew into a sweet little girl, and a beautiful woman.
At Kaplan High School, her senior class voted her the most beautiful and she was also the homecoming queen. On the night of the homecoming game it rained, but in every picture Jane is smiling and seems delighted as she was escorted by her father in the homecoming court.
Jane was fun-loving, adventurous, and independent. She liked people and took up for the underdog. She enjoyed sports, traveling, artistic pursuits, horseback riding and many other outdoor activities. She played basketball. In third grade she won the hoola hoop contest, in ninth grade she won the turkey shoot. She taught swimming and enjoyed skin diving. She liked fishing offshore with her father and friends. Jane always caught a lot of fish, even if the person standing next to her never got a nibble.
She graduated college at St. Mary’s Dominican College with a degree in art education. A few years later she finished a program in architecture studies at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston.
By midlife she was troubled by health issues. It was a cross to bear that increased in her remaining years, but she is with her parents now, and free of pain.
She died in her sleep from bone cancer on April 23, 2018 after many loving visits with siblings and relations. She was anointed by her friend and priest Father Bill Ruskoski during her last illness. She was laid to rest with her parents, Dr. Gaulman Abshire and Mrs. Helen Abshire, following a private service.
She is survived by her siblings Dr. Stephen Abshire (Martha), Linda Abshire, and Richard Allen Abshire (Karen). She was close to her nephews Stephen Myers (Sarah), Hampton Myers who was her godson, and Nate Abshire. She had three beautiful nieces, twins Christine and Catherine, and Selia, as well as many dear cousins.