Jane I. Skillman

Jane I. Skillman, 87, of Hastings, died December 6, 2023.  Jane was born March 11, 1936 in Adrian, MI to Fay and Bertha (Logan) Handy.  Jane grew up in Adrian where she was a 1954 graduate of Adrian High School.  She then graduated from Stautzenberger Business College in Toledo, OH.  She came to Battle Creek after her marriage to William Skillman in 1965 at the Salvation Army. 

Jane worked as an ordering and invoice clerk for 10 years for Montgomery Ward in Adrian and Urbana, IL; one year as a math tutor at Roosevelt School; and from 1986 to 1991 as an administrative assistant at Wallace Insurance Agency. 

Jane was a member of the Salvation Army where she had been a Sunbeam Leader, Adventure Cops Leader, Sunday school teacher, Home League secretary/treasurer and recording secretary, Corps Council member and Christmas intake worker.  At Roosevelt School she was the PTA president, treasurer and secretary, a Home Room mother and managed floor hockey for 2 years.  She was the first secretary of Neighborhoods Inc., and worked on several committees for Neighborhoods Inc. and the police department.  She was also a member of the PTA at Southwestern High School.  Her hobbies include crocheting, knitting tatting, ceramics, crossword and jigsaw puzzles.  Above all else, she loved being with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

Jane is survived by her son, Jonathan W. (Sara) Skillman; her daughter, Laura L. Andrews; a son-in-law, Scott C. Lorencen; 9 grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren and two sisters, Judy Ehinger and Faye McOscar.  She was preceded in death by her husband, Bill; a son, Douglas R. Skillman; a daughter, Christine Lorencen and her parents. 

The family will receive visitors from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Monday, December 11, 2023 at the Farley Estes Dowdle Funeral Home & Cremation Care, where funeral services to celebrate Jane’s life will be Tuesday, December 12 at 1:00 p.m.  Interment will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery, Battle Creek.  Memorial donations may be made to The Salvation Army General Fund or to Elara Caring Hospice.  Personal messages for the family may be placed at www.farleyestesdowdle.com. 

The family has created a beautiful slideshow of memories and it may be viewed at https://vimeo.com/user112006878/janeskillman