Jane Russell Paquette

Jane Russell Paquette died Sunday, August 3 following a lengthy illness. Jane was born April 10, 1926, the eldest child of Paul and Lorretto Hughes Russell, of Fremont. She attended St. Ann Elementary School and Fremont Ross High, class of 1944. She was a student at Seton Hill College for two years before transferring to The Ohio State University in January 1947. In September of that year, she married Jack K. Paquette of Fremont, her high school sweetheart, who also was an OSU student. Following graduation from OSU’s School of Social Administration in 1948, she was employed as a case worker at the Franklin County Welfare Department until she give birth to her first child in 1950. The Paquette family moved to Toledo in 1951 when Jack was employed by the Owens-Ilinois Glass Company. Jane continued in her favorite role as mother and homemaker, until 1965 when she was asked to join the staff of Toledo Catholic Charities where for three years she was a case worker responsible for placing children in adoption. An avid tennis and bridge player, she belonged to several organizations supporting those pursuits. She also had been active in the Tarcisians, the group that provides Holy Communion to shut-ins; was formerly president of the Hope Circle of the Child Conservation League;  a member of the Lourdes College, Toledo Hospital and Little Sisters Auxiliaries and the advisory board of Mid-Coast Hospital in Brunswick, Maine, and a volunteer at Mary’s Day Care Center, a senior care facility. She is survived by her husband, Jack; her four children, Dr. Jan (Mark) Eriksen, of LaCrosse, WI; Mark (Cynthia) Paquette, of Kennebunkport, ME; Mary Beth Paquette (Charles Cohen), of Monmouth, ME and John (Eileen) Paquette, of Covington, KY; three grandchildren, Sage and Hope Paquette-Cohen and Emma Paquette, and a sister, Peggy Beck, of Fremont. A funeral mass will be held for Jane at Little Flower Roman Catholic Church, 5522 Dorr Street, at 11 a.m. Thursday, August 7. The family will greet friends and relatives at the church beginning at 10:30 a.m.  Internment ceremonies at Resurrection Cemetery will be private. In lieu of flowers, it is suggested that contributions as a memorial to Jane be made to Little Flower Church; the Make-a-Wish Foundation, 1745 Indian Wood Circle, Maumee, 43537, or a charity of the donor’s choice. Walker Funeral Homes assisted the family with arrangements.