Ida Jane Bennett

Aug 23, 1926 -

Mar 27, 2023

Ida Jane, "Jane," Bennett passed away on March 27, 2023, in Ramona, Calif., where she was visiting her grandson. Jane was born in Leyman, Okla., to Walter and Ida Honegger on Aug. 23, 1926. She was the youngest and only child of her parents. She had four older half-brothers, Glenn, Jack, Charles "Red" and Jess, all children of her mother from a first marriage; and a half-brother, Paul, and half-sister, Audrey, from her father's first marriage.

Jane's early years were in Oklahoma where her father worked for an oil company. She attended local schools and early on demonstrated a talent for singing. Before the beginning of WWII the family moved to the San Francisco Bay area, where Jane's father worked in the shipyards on the construction of Navy vessels. Jane, at age 16, also worked for a time in the shipyards as a riveter.

Through an aunt, Jane met John Bennett, who was in the Navy. They fell in love and were married on July 31, 1943. Their first child, Carol, was born at the Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland, Calif., while John was on duty in the South Pacific. Diana was born a few years later, in 1946, in Grand Coulee, Wash.

In December 1947, Jane followed John and flew to Anchorage, with the two little girls and began a life in Alaska. John continued working in construction and they bought a home on Strawberry Road in south Anchorage. While living on Strawberry Road, John and Jane developed a strawberry farm and sold strawberries to the public for several years. Jane joined the Anchorage Community Chorus in 1953 as a soprano and remained an active member for many decades. She participated in numerous Anchorage Festivals of Music over the years which often featured the renowned choral director, Robert Shaw.

Jane's daughter Carol joined the choir in 1960, and both Jane and Carol sang in the 1960 Festival of Music which performed Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Jane worked for several years at the University of Alaska Anchorage as a secretarial assistant and provided support to staff and faculty members. After retiring from the University, Jane and John traveled by car from Alaska to the East Coast, south to Florida, and west to Arizona and California. They especially enjoyed Green Valley, Ariz., and Jane later bought a home there. They also spent several holidays in Mexico in the Puerto Vallarta area. Jane was a member of the Catholic church in Anchorage. She traveled with a church group to visit Rome, Italy, in 1996, and also visited London, England, before returning to Anchorage on a polar flight.

Jane was preceded in death by her husband, John, in 2011; and previously by her parents; all of her brothers; and her sister. Her ashes will be placed in John's grave site in the Fort Richardson Cemetery in Anchorage.

She is survived by her grandson, Lucas C. Brandt; and daughters, Carol B. Eaton and Diana J. Bennett.

Services will be held at a later date.