When I was 8, my family moved across the street from Jane.  Back in the early 70's, Jane was quite an anomaly. She was a divorcee with no children and a successful career in computer programming.  She lived alone in a large 4 bedroom house with a succession of dogs, and was viewed by most of the neighbors as an eccentric.

My mother didn't find Jane's "eccentricities" at all alarming, and she and Jane, ten years Mom's junior, became good friends.  Jane became a fixture in my life, almost like another family member.

Jane was ahead of her time in more than just her personal life and career.  In the early 70's, she embraced the organic and self-sufficiency movements when they were just ideas bandied around by "hippie freaks".  A statuesque woman who maintained an impeccable corporate appearance, she was the last person anyone would suspect of having a stash of the then-radical "Mother Earth News" along side the grain mill she purchased so she could grind her own flour from organic grains.

When I was a teen, Jane gifted me with a copy of "5 Acres and Independence", a hefty tome on how to survive independently on a small parcel of land.  She also loaned me her entire library of "Mother Earth News."  I submerged myself in a world of self-sufficiency and sustainable living.  I vowed that some day I would be one of those noble people I was reading about.

I went to college and received a degree in agriculture with the hopes of realizing my dreams.  Despite an education heavily emphasizing "factory" and "corporate" farming, I maintained my dreams of some day starting a new life as an organic subsistence farmer.

After graduating college, the real world hit and I realized I needed to make money to make my dreams come true.  As everyone probably understands, one thing led to another and the dreams of my teenage years were shelved in favor of making a living in the urban world.

I got married and moved from my parents' house to my new husband's house, only 1/4 mile from where I grew up.  I still saw Jane on a semi-regular basis, but only when I happened to be visiting my parents the same time she was. 

Jane was diagnosed with breast cancer and died when I was around 30.  I visited her shortly before she died, and I was amazed at how at peace she was.  That was the last time I saw Jane, and I have strong memories of her facing her mortality with the calm confidence that she showed in other aspects of her life.  I still think about Jane, especially now, 30 years after she introduced me to sustainable living.