Jane M. Birchard

Mrs. Jane Birchard, 95, of Emporia died peacefully on March 30, 2018.

Jane was born on December 20, 1922 to Ralph and Katherine Childs on the family farm near Manchester, Iowa. She was the fourth of seven children.

She attended Rock Prairie Country School for her elementary education and was very involved in 4-H during her elementary and high school years.   After graduating from Manchester High School in 1940, she taught country school in Delaware County in Iowa, as well as in Cedar City, Des Moines, and rural Waterloo schools in Iowa.  During the summer, she attended Iowa State Teachers College and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in early childhood education in 1948.

While in college, she met her husband Carl W. Birchard, and they married on June 18, 1949 in Manchester, Iowa.  They had three sons, and together the family enjoyed scouting, camping, fishing, gardening and bird watching. Their three sons are John (Barbara) Birchard, Mendocino, California, Tom Birchard, Madison, Kansas, and Bob (Loretta) Birchard, Wheaton, Illinois.  Her five grandchildren are Brook Birchard (Corina) Portland, Oregon, Ryan Birchard (Priya), Fort Bragg, California, Justin Birchard, Oak Park Illinois, Andrew Birchard, Blue River, Colorado, and Marija Birchard Warrenville, Illinois. Her three great grandchildren are Radha and Rishi Birchard of Fort Bragg, California and Lorenzo Birchard of Portland, Oregon.

In 1966 she received a master’s degree in library science from Kansas State Teachers College (Emporia State University), and she worked as a librarian for 20 years at the Flint Hills Vocational Technical School in Emporia, Kansas.

She was a long time member of Calvary Baptist Church in Emporia, where she served in many positions. She and her husband were enrolled in and helped supervise the Bible Memory Association work there for many years.  In her later years, she was a member of West Side Baptist. She was a member of the Auxiliary of the Gideons International, the Fortieth Farmeretts Extension Unit, and an Emporia State University (ESU) Craft Group. In later years she took some woodworking classes at Emporia State University where she made many things, including a piece of furniture for each grandchild.

She is survived by her three children, five grandchildren, three great grandchildren, one brother, Roger (Doris) Childs, of San Mateo, California, and one sister, Marjorie Cahalan of Urbandale, Iowa, as well as many nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her husband Carl in 1980, her brothers Everett Childs, John Childs, Harold Childs and her sister Lucille Woeste.

A graveside service will be held Wednesday, April 4, 2018 at 2:00 P.M. at the Patio Garden, Memorial Lawn Cemetery, Emporia.

A Memorial Service will be held at a later date.

Memorials have been established with the Emporia Friends of the Library or the Friends of the Emporia Animal Shelter. Contributions may be sent through Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home, PO Box #175, Emporia, Kansas.

Condolences to the family may be sent online through the funeral home website; www.robertsblue.com