Jane Newton Saladin passed away at the age of 85 at the MD Anderson Palliative Care Unit surrounded by her loving family. The matriarch of the Saladin family, Jane was born in Boston, Massachusetts and was raised in Miami Springs, Florida. She was the fourth of six children. Raised during the post-Depression era in humble circumstances, Jane was determined to get a college education. Jane worked through her twenties to save enough money to attend Florida State University. She earned a degree in music education by the time she was thirty and then went on to the University of Illinois where she pursued and earned a master’s degree in Voice. It was here that a chance meeting at a party would change her life forever. Begrudgingly accompanying a friend to a social event on campus paid tremendous dividends as she met Lawrence Saladin, a young engineer who was also pursuing a graduate degree. There was an instant connection and within a month they began to date – eventually marrying and spending the next 52 years together. Their life’s journey took them to different locations across the United States. First, Fredericksburg, Virginia, where Jane worked as the registrar and director of financial aid for Mary Washington College. She gave the first college loan to a black student at Mary Washington and stated that “she loaded her up with so much money that she wouldn’t have any financial worries.” In Fredericksburg, she and Larry would celebrate the birth of two sons, Lawrence Paul (1970) and Peter Geoffrey (1972). Within a few years, their small family moved to Danville, Illinois where Larry took an engineering job and Jane stayed home to raise her young family. It was in Danville that she gave birth to their daughter, Amanda (1975). It was while living in Danville that Jane developed a passion for tennis. A complete novice, she took lessons at the Danville Tennis Club. Within five years, she was the city champion of her age division and was competing at tournaments across the state. In 1980, Jane, Larry and their 3 children moved to Houston, Texas, where Larry took a job with a petrochemical company and Jane went back to work in administration at the University of Texas Dental Branch. Lifelong Catholics, they put their children through parochial high schools at St. Thomas, Strake Jesuit and Duchenne Academy and Catholic colleges at Providence, Marquette and LeMoyne. In 1991, Jane was diagnosed with cancer and immediately began treatment at MD Anderson. She fought this insidious disease for more than 26 years. Through decades of surgery, radiation and proton therapy – expertly and lovingly managed by MD Anderson – the cancer was kept at bay. During this time period, she and Larry were able to travel the world and play an integral part in the lives of their six grandchildren – Katy, Christopher, Rachel, Aaron, Gehrig and Clara. There were many vacations with the kids and grandkids at Universal Studios, Disney cruises, Martha’s Vineyard and Warrenton, Virginia. However, a lake house in the Knollwood community of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin would keep the family dynamic robust and vibrant as every August the family gathered, allowing for Jane and Larry’s entire family to connect, grow and develop. Jane’s athletic prowess was handed down to her grandkids and her love of sports was perpetually on display. Baseball games, swim meets, volleyball tournaments – she was always present. She went parasailing with her son Peter at the age of 80; shagged countless ground balls and pop flies for her grandkids; went tubing on Lake Geneva and was a constant presence at waterparks all over the Wisconsin Dells with her family. In between travelling the world and traversing the country in the support of her family, Jane found time to donate over 5,000 hours of service to MD Anderson. She enhanced the lives of countless patients, was the subject of a promotional video on hope; helped establish their patient helpline and participated on the steering committee. Her last wish was to die at MD Anderson, surrounded by her family and the doctors, nurses and support staff whose treatment had allowed her to live out her dreams over these past 26 years. This wish was granted. The memory of Jane will remain a part of all of us who had the pleasure of knowing her. We will miss her infectious laugh, beautiful smile and how effortlessly she made others around her feel better about themselves. Goodbye for now, loving wife, sister, mother and grandmother – we look forward to seeing you again. A celebration mass of Jane’s life will be held on Saturday, September 15, 2018 at 9:30am at St. Bernadette Catholic Church, 15500 El Camino Real, Houston, Texas 77062, officiated by Father Bob Barras.
In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made in Jane’s name to the MD Anderson Cancer Center.