Jane Saunders Cole, age 91, a resident of Wheaton, IL passed away on October 14, 2024, due to complications from a stroke.

She was born Jane Edna Saunders in Brooklyn, New York on May 21, 1933, to John Everitt Saunders and Jane Courtney Saunders née McRae, who had immigrated to the United States from Glasgow, Scotland. Jane grew up in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn. After graduating from Fort Hamilton High School, she earned a degree from Brooklyn College.

She later studied at Union Theological Seminary of Columbia University in Manhattan, earning a master's degree. She completed a thesis on "The Righteousness of God in Pauline Theology."

Jane met Linden Cole in the 1960s through church circles in New York. Both participated in the alumni group of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and Jane also worked on the InterVarsity staff. One of their early dates occurred at a dinner party that was disrupted by the Northeast Blackout of 1965. Jane and Linden were married at North Reformed Church in Newark, New Jersey in 1966. Their daughter, Catherine Jean, was born in 1968.

Jane, Linden, and Cathy made their home first in Newark, where Linden worked for the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company, and later in Montclair, New Jersey. In 1980, when Linden was hired to work for the Society of Actuaries, the family moved to Wheaton, IL, where Jane and Linden would spend the rest of their lives.

Jane discovered piano music thanks to a member of her grandfather's Scout troop who played in the family home during her childhood. She later became a piano teacher, passing on her skills to numerous students in Montclair and Wheaton over the years and participating in the Illinois State Music Teachers Association. Jane was also a devotee of Chicago's Orchestra Hall, where she held season tickets for the Chicago Symphony and Piano Series.

Jane and Linden were longtime members of Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Warrenville, where they worshipped and attended Sunday school. Jane continued to bring Linden to church even after he began to suffer from dementia, one of the many ways in which she showed her love as caregiver during the "long goodbye" of his struggle with memory loss.

She was preceded in death by her mother, "Wee Jean" Saunders; her father, J. Everitt Saunders; and her brother, David Saunders. She survived Linden, her lifelong companion, by two weeks. She is survived by her daughter Catherine Cole, son-in-law Michael Behrent, sister-in-law Jan Cole, and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 2PM on Saturday, December 21st at Immanuel Presbyterian Church, located at 29W260 Batavia Rd, Warrenville, IL.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Immanuel Presbyterian Church , the Nature Conservancy , or the American Macular Degeneration Foundation .