Jane Walton Rowe

Jane was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on September 5, 1940, the happy child of Esther and Cal Lilly moving at age ten with brother John and sister Kathy to Wethersfield, Connecticut, answering the demands of Cal's insurance career.

Upon graduating from Wethersfield High, Jane went off to Children's Hospital School of Nursing in Boston and then, to everyone's surprise, to two years in the Peace Corps and the jungles of Malaysia. She married upon her return to the states and quickly started a family with three rambunctious boys, the great loves of her life: David, Kenneth and Michael Walton now of Wellfleet, Marblehead and Wenham, Massachusetts.

The boys kept her busy but once they were big enough, she returned to secure her Masters at Boston College and as a single mother, to teaching prospective nurses at the local Community College here in Lynn and Danvers. After retiring to care first for her aging parents and then for her grandchildren, she became a cuddler of distressed infants at the Special Care Nursery in Salem. Somehow, she also found time to sail, to swim and to enjoy local resources along with a host of friends, all the time keeping tabs on the boys and their many, many games from baseball to basketball, from rugby to wrestling. They played constantly and she never seemed to miss a game.

In 1985 she met her husband, Sterling Rowe, also of Marblehead and welcomed his two children, Rachel and Alec, into the fold. They enjoyed over forty years of marriage, focusing on family, holiday celebrations and frequent vacations to Cape Cod.

In 2013 she was diagnosed with “cognitive deficits” and memory loss that deepened over the following years, greatly complicating her life and ultimately depriving her of her sight.

For the past two years Jane has resided at Bertram House in Swampscott where she received the very best of care from the staff and eventually from the Hospice attendants of Care Dimensions. She maintained her sweet, warm self throughout, often sensing that an aide was nearby, reaching out to tell them, “I love you,” despite her blindness.

Jane leaves behind her five children, their beloved wives Kristin, Susan and Maritza Walton and Patty Rowe of Fairfield, Ct. along with sixteen grandchildren and ten great grandchildren. She will be missed by all of them but remains as an inspiration in their hearts.

A memorial service will be held in Jane's honor at the St Andrew's Episcopal Church, 135 Lafayette St., Marblehead, MA at 10:00AM, Saturday, August 1, 2026. All are welcomed to attend.

At every giving season her one mandate was to remember Children's Hospital of Boston and would be grateful if, in lieu of flowers, any donations be made to that beloved institution.