Jane Caffry Hawn, 82, died peacefully on April 4, 2018, at the Arbors in Shelburne, VT, after living for the last several years with Alzheimer’s. She was born Martha Jane Canaday in Polk, PA, on July 22, 1935. As an infant, Jane moved with her parents, Dr. John Walker Canaday and Charlotte Nicklin Canaday, to Glens Falls, NY. She graduated from Glens Falls High School in 1953. She went on to graduate from Mount Holyoke College, as had her mother before her. She completed additional coursework at the University of Colorado and SUNY Plattsburgh.
Jane married H. Glen Caffry, a Glens Falls attorney, in 1957. They had four children together and lived in Queensbury, NY, until his death in 1975. In 1993, Jane married John P. Hawn of Albany, NY, and moved to the Albany area at that time.
Jane was always interested in education. She worked as an elementary school teacher in Queensbury for a few years and soon thereafter won a seat on the Queensbury Board of Education, which she held for 16 years. During that time, she served as the board’s first female president. She also served on the College Council of SUNY Plattsburgh and the Board of Cooperative Educational Services.
Jane was a very active volunteer. She served on the boards of the Hyde Collection and Chapman Historical Museum in Glens Falls and later the Albany Institute of History and Art. Jane also served on the boards of the Lake George Opera Company, Glens Falls Hospital Foundation, Family Service Association and Glens Falls YMCA. She served on the board of the Tri-County United Way and later became its first female executive director. Jane volunteered at Crandall Library, Saratoga Performing Arts Center and Planned Parenthood. Jane belonged to the First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls for over 50 years and served the church in many capacities, and to the Lake George Garden Club and Glens Falls Club of College Women.
Jane is survived by her husband, John P. Hawn, and her children, John Caffry and his wife Ellen of Glens Falls, Russell Caffry and his wife Eileen of Shelburne, Laura Caffry and her partner Steven Kreindler of Waitsfield, and James Caffry and his wife Amy of Waitsfield. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Anna, Emily, Daniel, Sarah, Charlotte, Walker, Duncan, Emma and Molly, and her stepdaughters, Dr. Maggie Hawn O’Connor, Sarah Hawn, Dr. Barbara Hawn Clements and Martha Hawn Rossi, and their families.
Jane is further survived by her brother, Richard Canaday; her sister, Susan Canaday Tillman; her sister-in-law, Annabelle Caffry; and 10 nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her cousins and their wives, George (“Jock”) and Martha Coughlan, Peter and Nancy Coughlan, and Rick and Sue Coughlan, and their children.
Friends are invited to attend a memorial service on Saturday, April 21, 2018, at 1 p.m., at the First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls, 8 W. Notre Dame Street, Glens Falls. A reception will be held following the service.
For those who wish to do so, a memorial gift may be made in Jane’s memory to either: the Lake George Land Conservancy, P.O. Box 1250, Bolton Landing, NY, 12814 (http://www.lglc.org/), or to her grandson Duncan’s school: Camphill Special School, Attn: Development Office, 1784 Fairview Road, Glenmoore, PA 19343 (http://camphillspecialschool.org/).
Jane’s family would like to thank each and every staff member of The Arbors at Shelburne, especially Jane’s personal caregiver Janet Wheelock, for their expert and tender care for the last 4 1/4 years. They would also like to thank the wonderful care team from Bayada Hospice and the kind professionals at Perkins-Parker Funeral Home.
