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- [S388] Cleveland.com, Reilly, Jane Ellen Nelson.
JANE REILLY, 86, died on Sunday, February 19, surrounded by her family in the peaceful surroundings of The Hospice of the Western Reserve. The middle of three children, Jane was born and raised in Clintonville, Wisconsin. A bright and popular student, Jane worked her way through the University of Wisconsin where she met Richard Reilly, a Marine Corps Officer-in-Training. They were married In Quantico, VA, and then moved to Camp Lejeune, NC, where Jane took up her new life as the wife of an officer who was soon deployed to Korea. A year later, the couple moved to her husband's hometown of Cleveland where their family grew to five children. During those years, Jane worked as a volunteer on the JFK campaign, appeared as a star pupil on the "Paige Palmer Show," converted to Catholicism, and took the lead in moving the family from a rental home in East Cleveland to the family home of 50 years on E. Fairfax Road in Cleveland Heights. Jane's passion for teaching led her to pursue a Master's degree at Kent State University in the early 1970s. She was soon making her mark with students at Beaumont, Regina, John Hay, and eventually Cuyahoga Community College. As she told one grandchild who became a teacher, "Love your students as your own and remember each day why you chose to do what you do." Jane was a woman with a big heart. In addition to teaching, she loved to garden, send cards to loved ones for all occasions, and was a founder of the E. Fairfax Road block party. She continued her interest in politics, only this time on the Fox News side. Her cable viewing consisted of the following: Fox News, Catholic Network, and Turner Classics. She is survived by her five children and their spouses, Mike Reilly (Fiona), Therese Roberto (Ron), Colleen Reilly (Gary Addie), Brian Reilly (Chris Neimers-Siegal), and Sean Reilly (Lori). She is also survived by her former husband, Richard, as well as brother, Bob and his wife, Helen, and a half-sister, Janet. She "adopted" spouses who had lost their own moms saying "I'm your mom now" accompanied by her signature hug. Grandma/"Nannie" Jane, delighted in the joys, talents, and successes of her grandchildren, Lindsey, Brook, Travis, Annie, Kristen (Tony Anelli), Meagan, Melissa, Matthew, Aiden, Emerie, and great-grandchildren, Sophia, Iris, and Joseph. Jane will always be with us because what she taught us lives in us – how to pray, how to love, how to welcome the morning light, look for flowers in bloom, cook a special meal, and send a thoughtful card. She calls to mind in her passing Lincoln's famous words, "We are never enemies, but friends and family. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature." In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that those who wish may make contributions in her name to the Hospice of the Western Reserve, 17876 St. Clair Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44110. You can view the Life of Jane Reilly at http://www.reillypainting.com/in-loving-memory-of-jane-reilly/ A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, February 25, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Ann Church of Communion of Saints Parish, 2175 Coventry Road, Cleveland Hts., OH 44118. The family will receive friends at the SCHULTE & MAHON-MURPHY FUNERAL HOME, 5252 MAYFIELD ROAD, LYNDHURST (BETWEEN RICHMOND AND BRAINARD) FRIDAY, 5-7 P.M. Please sign Guest Book at: www.schultemahonmurphy.com
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Cleveland.com 21FEB2017
Accessed: 24JAN2026
- [S329] Commonwealth of Virginia; Dept. of Health: Marriage Return, Reilly, Richard J & Nelson, Jane E. Virginia Department of Health; Richmond, Virginia; Virginia, Marriages, 1936-2014; Roll: 101167069.
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d. 12 May 2018, Ohio, USA