Jane Frances Carlson passed away peacefully with her family and pastor at her side on July 21, 2025. She had been a resident at Frasier Meadows for more than four years.

Jane was born in Colorado Springs to Roy and Dele Waters on February 26, 1929. She grew up in a yellow house, loved books and playing house with girls on the block. Her parents were sturdy and loving. Jane loved mischief and mounted a revolt in high school, encouraging fellow students to stay on the bus instead of going to class. She attended Northampton School for Girls for her senior year and thrived academically. Jane studied English and Education at the University of Colorado where she was President of her Delta Gamma sorority and met her husband, Bob Carlson who was newly back from World War II. They had five children (Tina, Bob, Doug, Glenn and Jim).

In order to support her children after Bob left the family, Jane taught English and established a center for students who had difficulty with reading at Boulder High for twenty-two years, supplemented by doing scoring and timing at various high school sports events. On the side, she completed a Masters in Adult Literacy from the University of Northern Colorado in 1978. She later taught at Ames Community College, Regis University, and her alma mater CU. Jane volunteered for hospice when the movement was just gaining acceptance and stayed with them for 43 years. She worked doing children’s bereavement groups, respite, home visiting, thank-you card writing and the thrift store, among other jobs for the organization. In recognition of this and other work, she was awarded the annual Boulder County Community Foundation’s Pat on the Back Award in 2006.

Jane was an avid dog lover, walker, weaver, reader and gardener. Her gardens flourished with vegetables and bright flowers. She was a lifelong Episcopalian and participated in the creation of two churches: St. Mary Magdalene in Boulder and St. Brigit’s in Frederick, Colorado. She taught Sunday school and was on the discernment committee for new ministers.

Jane loved her family and stayed close with all five of her children, as well as their spouses: Tres (Tina), Beth (Doug) and Joanna (Jim). She found great joy in her close involvement with her grandchildren: Caitlyn, Betsy, Mia, Jimmy and Jane. She had three great grandchildren, Elton, Luca and Daphne, and loved to see videos and photos of them. She was also very close to the daughters of her late sister Rita Grace, Heather and Janet. She remained close to all her surviving sorority sisters.

Jane was gifted with a strong sense of curiosity about the world and was able to travel widely including to: Vietnam, China, Tibet, Armenia, Russia, Burkina Faso, Italy, Poland, Germany, France, Spain, Great Britain, and New Zealand, as well as exploring many parts of the US. She read voraciously and never stopped wanting to learn and grow. We will miss her strong determination, her great humor and laugh, her fierceness, her kindness, her wit, and the giving and unconditional love she offered.

A memorial service will be held at 11am on Saturday, August 30, 2025 in the chapel of St. Mary Magdalene Church, 4775 Cambridge Street, Boulder.