Obituary of Jane R. Jenks Small

Jane Reppert Jenks Small, 96, of State College, died Sunday, August 26, 2018, at Foxdale Village in State College. Born August 3, 1922, in Philipsburg, she was the daughter of James Harold and Eleanor Rae Runk Reppert, the oldest of six sisters. On September 18, 1943, Jane married Barton L. Jenks, Jr., who preceded her in death on November 6, 1995. Her second husband, Peter B. Small, whom she married on December 5, 1998, in State College, also preceded her in death on February 27, 2006. Jane was raised in Plainfield, NJ, and graduated from North Plainfield High School in 1940. She attended Swarthmore College and the Wheelock College of Education in Brookline, MA before her marriage to Bart Jenks. Once her children were older she returned to school and obtained her B.S from Penn State in 1965. She also did graduate work in subsequent years at Penn State. Jane worked for a time in the Alumni Office of Swarthmore College, but the career she cherished was as a teacher for 17 years at Matternville and Ferguson Township Elementary Schools in the State College Area School District. She retired from teaching in 1981. Jane was an active member of the State College area community and of State College Friends Meeting for over 50 years. Early on she helped to found the Cooperative Playschool, and she was part of the community group that got Schlow Library established in a house on West College Avenue. She and her husband, Bart, were part of the small group that started Foxdale Village, moving into a cottage there in 1989 before the Community Building was finished. Jane was on the board of, and was a 60 year member of, the League of Women Voters; she also served on the board of State College Friends School. Jane is survived by her son, Barton Harold Jenks and his wife, Janet Lewis, of Glenview, IL and grandson, Adam Jenks of Urbanna, Ohio. In addition to her parents, her five sisters, and her husbands, Jane was preceded in death by her daughter, Effie Jenks on June 15, 2014. A memorial service will be held at Foxdale Village, 500 E. Marylyn Ave., State College, on Saturday, November 3 at 2:00 pm in the Foxdale Auditorium. Burial will be private in Friends Cemetery, Stormstown. Contributions in memory of Jane R. Jenks Small may be directed to State College Friends Meeting, 611 East Prospect Avenue, State College PA 16801. 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.