Obituary of Jane Serkland

Jane Serkland, age 68, of State College passed away on December 24th, 2015, grateful for the multitude of blessings bestowed upon her throughout her life. She extends her gratitude and appreciation to all of her doctors, caregivers, family and friends who helped her to maintain a joie de vivre in spite of the breast cancer that interfered more than she would have preferred with her quality of life the last few years. Surviving are Jane's beloved children, Laura Strauss of State College, PA, and Andrew and Viviana Strauss of Jersey City, NJ. Jane retired to State College in 2006 to be near her grandchildren, Tommy Lower and Catherine Lower of State College, who brought more joy than they can imagine to her life. Jane was born in Fargo, ND, the daughter of Chester James and Alice Brenden Serkland, both deceased. She is survived by her brother and wife, John and Lola Serkland of Flagstaff, AZ, her sister-in-law, Gloria Serkland of Sister Bay, WI and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her brothers James and Stephen Serkland. Upon graduating from Fargo Central High School in 1965, Jane went to St. Olaf College where she earned her Bachelor's degree in 1969. In later years she attained Masters Degrees from Syracuse University (1975) in Child and Family Studies and Cornell University (1983) in Industrial and Labor Relations. Always the adventurer, Jane had several fun and successful careers including urban teaching in Minneapolis and Chicago, director of SUNY Upstate Medical Center Day Care Center, research assistant on a Sudden Infant Death study with SUNY Upstate Medical Center / Syracuse University, and process analyst on an international study of the family at Cornell University. She also gave 18 years of her life to Hewlett Packard Co. where she enjoyed several human resource positions, resigning in the year 2000 as the Worldwide Compensation Manager for the Hewlett Packard Services organization. Still not quite ready to retire, Jane undertook the challenge of another career change, joining the Towers Perrin Reinsurance brokerage unit in a marketing support position. Upon moving to State College from Norwalk, CT, she continued in the insurance industry, and will always be grateful to the Frost and Conn Insurance Agency for hiring a retiree, for the incredible support during the treatment of breast cancer, and to her colleagues and customers for their great comradery. Travel, music, fine dining and fine wine, and her wonderful family and friends were Jane's staff of life. In her younger years she was an accomplished pianist, flute and recorder player. While residing in State College, she enjoyed ringing in the bell choir at State College Presbyterian Church. Jane loved to attend classical, jazz, gospel, opera, theater and cabaret events. These were the things that fed her soul. Again, always the adventure seeker since childhood, her love of travel was sparked by her attendance at the University of Oslo International Summer School (1968). It was a life changing event for her, meeting students from all over the world and recognizing the commonalities of our basic humanity, all of which defy borders, cultural differences, politics and governing philosophies. Since then Jane has traveled widely in the United States, Europe, and South America with Russia, South Africa and Antarctica providing the most inspirational and educational experiences. The family invites friends and even strangers to a Memorial Service at State College Presbyterian Church on January 16th, 2016 at 11am. The service, a spiritual celebration which will include music of several genres, was planned in advance to ensure focus on Jane's utter and absolute passion and zest for life. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the State College Presbyterian Church, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) www.nami.org, Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) www.bcrf.org, or to your favorite charity. Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com or visit us on Facebook.