Jane W Martin-Donley

April 26, 1931-September 24, 2026

Jane Keck Wakefield Martin Donley, born April 26, 1931, loved theater, music, opera, and travel. She liked adventure, as evidenced by her leaving her small Pennsylvania hometown of Greenville, armed with half of a two-year secretarial degree, at the age of 19 for Washington, DC, where she worked for the Economic Cooperation Administration across Lafayette Park from the White House. Together with a few friends from her childhood, they ate lunch in Lafayette Park, watched parades, kept track of President Truman’s White House balcony construction, and enjoyed life in the big city. Years later, she would still remember that interval happily when visiting the area again.

Jane remembered growing up with a tight group of friends who all lived in the same neighborhood. Many of them remained close throughout their lives, having annual reunions at a cabin on Lake Erie once their own children were grown.

Jane met Jim Martin on a blind date in 1949, and after her sojourn in DC, they married in 1951 in Greenville’s First Presbyterian Church where her grandfather

was once the minister. Children William Wakefield (Bill) Martin, Charles Wakefield (Wakie) Martin, and Nancy Ann Martin followed at two-year intervals. When her children were settled in school, Jane was back to work, always showing organization and administrative talent in managing businesses and the men who were then in charge of them.

Jane and Jim divorced in 1968, and Jane, Wakie and Nancy started anew in Houston, where employment opportunities at that time were abundant. Jane continued her professional and personal development, frequently recruited for executive secretarial and administrative positions for companies as Houston’s economy remained strong. In 1980, Jane was introduced to Bob Donley, an actor performing at Houston’s Alley Theater. They eventually married, and as the Houston economy was experiencing the oil downturn, they moved to New York. Bob recorded books for the blind and Jane again found satisfying work with Hoffman Engineering, where she worked for many years in Stamford, Connecticut. Bob eventually wanted to try to work in movies in Los Angeles, and Jane chose not to follow that path. They divorced in 1993.

In the meantime, Nancy and then-husband Gary had daughter Stacy and son Mathew, and Bill and wife Linda had son Justin. Jane was excited to see her grandchildren and watch them grow. When she stopped working in 2003, she moved back to Houston – she always hated the cold up north! – to be closer to her family. Wakie and wife Paula had joined the Foreign Service, and Jane was traditionally the first visitor to every post, joining them in Panama, Venezuela, Poland, Pakistan, multiple times in Italy, and Albania. She also enjoyed visiting when they had stints in Washington, where she remembered her days as a young woman living in a boarding house and working for the government.

Jane enjoyed the opera and theater into her senior years and read voraciously. She loved the arts, as she loved travel, and as she loved her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Jane is survived by William (Bill) and Linda (McTarnaghan) Martin; Nancy and Felix Sierra; Stacy Matula; Mathew, Kelli (Oakes), Avery and Aubrey Matula; Justin Martin and Jennifer Budnik, and Paula Thiede. She was preceded in death by son Charles (Wakie) Martin. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Salvation Army, Food Bank or Shriners.

A Celebration of Life will be planned in the future to honor Her memory and bring family and friends together to share stories and reflect on her life.