Dan Rich's Wife Jane Dies at 69

Jane L. Rich, age 69, died peacefully Dec. 29, 2011, at UW Hospital. She was born in Minneapolis, Minn., on Sept. 29, 1942, the daughter of John and Dorothy Hoyt. She attended St. Louis Park High School, St. Olaf College, and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in sociology in 1964. While at University of Minnesota, she met her future husband on a blind date. Her love of his red wool socks proved irresistible and they soon became inseparable. She married Daniel H. Rich on Aug. 21, 1964. They lived in Ithaca, N.Y., Midland, Mich., and Palo Alto, Calif., before settling in Madison in 1970, where Dan was a Chemistry Professor in the UW School of Pharmacy until 2006.

Jane is survived and greatly missed by her husband, Dan; her daughters, Julie (Sean Fain) and Kristina (Robb Timme); her mother and stepfather, Dorothy and Robert Drake; niece, Sheryl Martinson; five grandchildren, Daniel, Jack, Kieran, Ben and Anna; and many wonderful friends. She was preceded in death by her father; her sister; and a niece.

Since 1973 Jane suffered major health problems caused by type-4 Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Despite this, Jane never lost her positive outlook on life and found ways to volunteer tutor and to pursue her love of color and art through quilting and other textile arts. She was a member of Mad City Quilters and Wednesday Morning Quilters and enjoyed making custom quilts for her friends and family. She loved her dog, reading, movies and food. She was never happier than when planning the next meal, especially while eating the one before her.

At Jane's request, a private family service will be held followed by a celebration of life in the spring, with details to be announced. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Schools of Hope to support tutoring in the Madison schools. Schools of Hope, 2222 S. Park St. Ste. 200, Madison, WI 53713.