Jane Braham Ansley
Dec. 2, 1928 – June 16, 2018
Jane Braham Ansley of Port Townsend, a teacher and counselor whose fragmented education as a child inspired her own career as an advocate for alternative learning options, died unexpectedly of heart failure on June 16. She was 89.
Jane was born in London, Dec. 2, 1928, to Darel and Blanche Braham and raised in Connaught Square, a posh neighborhood just off Hyde Park.
Family ruptures and World War II meant she was moved from home to home, then evacuated to the English countryside, then brought to New York by her mother.
By her own count, she attended 22 schools before being accepted at Goddard College, in Vermont, which emphasized self-directed learning. She graduated in 1951. In 1953, she married a classmate, George Ansley of Cleveland.
Jane and George drove cross-country to Washington in 1953 and eventually settled in a house they built on 12 acres near Issaquah. She began her teaching career at an elementary school in Coalfield.
The couple had four children: David, Joyce, Barbara and Darel. While raising them, Jane volunteered for school and library projects, wrote a column for the Issaquah Press, and worked as a substitute teacher. In 1974 she returned full-time to teaching and counseling, in the Renton and Auburn school districts.
Many of Jane’s students had struggled in school, with difficult home and personal lives. She set up individual learning contracts with each and was famous for the pot of soup she made for her students each morning. She also mentored other educators. She earned a master’s degree in counseling from the University of Washington in 1980.
After retiring from teaching and counseling in 1991, she and George moved to Port Townsend.
She was executive director of the Washington Association for Learning Alternatives for four years and served on the Port Townsend School Board. She was active in many local cultural, civic, and charitable groups, with a wide circle of friends.
Her passions in retirement included gardening (especially her orchid collection), travel (to England, New Zealand, and annually to Kauai), community service, and frequent salmon fishing, berry picking, and clam digging trips with her family.
Jane is survived by her husband of 65 years, four children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life service is planned for Sunday, July 8 in Port Townsend. The family asks that those interested in attending call Barbara at (509) 607-2367 for details.
