Obituary of Jane Ellen Auhl

Jane Tarbox Auhl, 58, of State College, Pennsylvania, passed away unexpectedly in her home on Saturday, September 9th, 2017. Jane was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on January 3rd, 1959 to Everett J. Tarbox and the late Lora Frances Hills Tarbox. Jane grew up in Denton, Texas, Chicago, Illinois and Terre Haute, Indiana where her father was a Professor at Indiana State University. She was an outgoing and popular girl in school who loved to sing and play instruments. She graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire in 1977 and then attended Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana where she received a degree in Germanic Languages in 1981. She received a Masters degree in Political Science and International Relations from Penn State University in 1986. As a teaching assistant at Penn State in 1984 she helped organize Students for America, a nationwide campus outreach and political action committee. While working on her MA she also worked for Robert Jastrow at the George C. Marshall Institute in New York City as a Policy Analyst. She received a commendation from the Outstanding Young Women of America in 1985. On December 18, 1988, she married her beloved Richard Auhl who is a Laboratory Director and Instructor in Aerospace Engineering at Penn State. They have resided in Happy Valley for the past 28 years where they raised their children Nicole, Jonathan, and Miranda. Jane went on to work at Penn State as a Computer Systems Specialist. In 2014 she became the Principal of Grace Prep High School where she flourished as a leader and mentor to the students and teachers alike. She always considered this her dream job. Jane had a life-long hunger for knowledge and a passion for learning. When she was not reading, listening to podcasts, or planning her next adventure, her favorite way to relax was playing the fiddle and singing in the band Bluegrass Redemption. Walking her dog Tribble in the woods near her home was another cherished pastime. She is survived by her husband Richard, her father Everett, three children, Nicole of Kasigluk, Alaska, Jonathan and his partner Alyssa, of Austin, Texas and Miranda of State College, Pennsylvania; three siblings, Monte Tarbox and his wife, Amy Beckett, and their daughters Cornelia, Aurora, and Molly of Silver Spring, Maryland; her twin sister Janis Fisher and her niece Katie and nephew Marc, of State College; and Jonathan Tarbox and his wife Kazuko Shimizu, of Saudi Arabia. Visitation will be 12 p.m. until 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Monday, September 18, 2017 at Koch Funeral Home, 2401 South Atherton Street, State College, Pennsylvania 16801. A Musical Celebration of Jane's Life will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 at Calvary Harvest Fields, Harvest Fields Drive, Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, with Pastor Jonathan J. Weibel officiating. Memorial contributions may be made on her behalf to the Pregnancy Resource Clinic, Centre Church, or Grace Prep of State College, Pennsylvania. Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, 2401 South Atherton Street, State College, Pennsylvania 16801. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com or visit us on Facebook.