Jane Ellen Seagraves Hyatt, of Estero, Florida, was relieved of pain and suffering from dementia and end stage kidney disease Tuesday, May 31, 2022, as she went to peace with her Father in heaven.
Jane was born July 27, 1939, in Charleston. In her early childhood, the family moved to Marlinton.
Raised and educated in Marlinton, she excelled in education and ultimately graduated as valedictorian of her high school class. Receiving a scholarship to West Virginia Institute of Technology, she majored in accounting and graduated cum laude. She was listed in Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities in recognition of her outstanding academic record, leadership and social activity contributions.
It was at WVIT that she met and married William Hyatt, of Lansdowne, Maryland, her husband of 60 years.
On graduation from Tech, she was hired as the first woman auditor in the West Virginia state’s business division. The couple later moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, where Jane worked as an auditor and business specialist for several public accounting firms.
On the birth of their children, the couple made the decision that the most important job Jane could do was to move out of the workforce and stay at home and raise the children, Bill and Holly, which she did.
A business move for Bill sent the family to Easton, Maryland. The children entered elementary school at the time, and Jane volunteered at the local schools, and later taught crafts part-time in a nursing home. An early adopter, she took computer courses at Chesapeake College and later was recruited to teach those same courses at the college. Subsequently, she was instrumental in opening, teaching and managing The Computer Shoppe in Easton.
A congregant at Trinity Cathedral Episcopal Church, Jane sang in the choir and was active in a number of other church activities. She was a dedicated gardener (roses you wouldn’t believe), baker of holiday treats, a huge fan of both Thrasher’s French fries at the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, or a dozen crabs at Oxford’s Pier Street Marina. Through the years Jane became a collector and talented craftsperson. Her collections included more than 100 dolls and as many demitasse cups. She excelled in sewing, quilting and beading, as well as creating Faberge-like eggs.
Upon the college graduations of their children, Jane and her husband retired and widely traveled. They initially bought a travel trailer and traveled all over the continental United States and Canada. Two major trips were a 15,000 mile trip across the country, through Canada, and up the Al Can highway to and through Alaska and a 5,000 mile trip following the Lewis and Clark Trail. They also took some 22 ocean and river cruises visiting the Carib-bean, China, Russia and most of Europe, all of which, to her delight, enhanced Jane’s collections before officially retiring to the Cascades Community in Estero, Florida, 15 years ago.
She joined the Cascades sewing club, making quilts for disadvantaged children and tutoring migrant children at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, as well as working in the church’s Pennywise Thrift Shop.
Survivors include her husband, William Hyatt Jr.; a son, William Hyatt III, his wife, Elizabeth, and children, Hannah and John; a daughter, Holly Coleman, her husband, Jason, and children, Ella and Otto; and a most beloved cat, aptly named Trouble.
Funeral service and reception were held Saturday, June 4, 2022, at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Bonita Springs, Florida.
In lieu of flowers, memorials in Jane’s memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.
To sign her guest register or to leave online condolences please visit ShikanyFuneralHome.com
Arrangements are being handled by Shikany’s Bonita Funeral Home.
