Jane L. Warburton was born in Boston, MA to the late William J. and Grace Leonard Curran. She graduated from Boston’s Faulkner Hospital in 1938 at the top of her class. Seeking adventure, she postponed her nursing career and joined American Airlines. The airline industry, which was in its infancy, required stewards to have an RN degree. One of her favorite stories about the DC-3 era involved the then First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Jane observed that Mrs. Roosevelt volunteered her seat to a wounded soldier. Only when the First Lady insisted did the soldier board the flight. For several years she flew with American Airlines and later instructed new recruits.

While working for American in New York City, Jane met a young man from Cecil County, MD who also worked for American. On Thanksgiving of 1941, Jane married William T. Warburton “Bill” at his family’s home in Elkton, MD. They enjoyed 10 years in Puerto Rico where Bill managed the local airport. In 1954 they returned to Cecil County to raise their two children, Mary Jane and William Curran. Jane renewed her nursing skills and joined the Veterans Administration. She worked at the Perry Point VA Medical Center serving as a psychiatric nurse for 22 years.

Upon retirement, Jane and Bill enjoyed many happy years as “snow birds”, traveling between their cottage in MD on the Elk River and a winter condo on a golf course in Lake Country, Florida. In 1994 they moved to Wilmington, DE to be closer to family support, when Bill contracted Parkinson’s. Jane was a skilled, patient and loving caregiver during a protracted battle with his terrible disease. Her daughter in CT and her son, a block away, felt fortunate to be involved in their day-to-day struggle. When Bill died in 2000, she moved to Ingleside Retirement Community.

Jane understood and welcomed the struggles of life. She also knew how to enjoy good times with both family and friends. She was generous of heart, enthusiastic, optimistic, intelligent and kind. She valued self-reliance and independence of thought. She was wife, lover, companion, and finally caregiver, during her husband’s long battle with Parkinson’s. She loved him to the day she died. An inspiration for a life well lived, she was a role model for her children and grandchildren, who loved and admired her. She died in her sleep at the age of 96 on Sunday, January 26, 2014 at her home in Wilmington, DE.

She is survived by a sister, Barbara Curran, living in Austin, TX; a daughter Mary Jane Darrow and her husband William Henry Darrow, Jr., living in Phoenix, AZ; a son William Curran Warburton and his wife Mary Straight Warburton, living in Elkton, MD and Wilmington, DE; two grandchildren, Kelly Warburton Darrow, a nurse practitioner, living in Boulder, CO and William Henry Darrow, III, a senior engineer for Twitter, living in San Francisco, CA.

A memorial service will be held for family and friends in the spring, the date to be announced later. In lieu of flowers, memorial contribution checks can be made to Immaculate Conception Church and sent c/o R.T. Foard F.H., 259 E. Main St., Elkton, MD 21921.