Jane Hamner, 1928-2023 (merged thread)

[Brenda]

I just read that Earl Hamner’s wife, Jane, passed away yesterday, August 19, 2023. Her nephew John Hankins, Audrey’s son, posted a long tribute to her on Facebook.

John Hankins

I am sitting in my living room enveloped in a pool of quiet tears at the news that my Aunt Jane passed away yesterday. Ironically Jane was one of those Aunts that I rarely got to see because of the distance involved. Jane was the first and only wife of my uncle Earl Hamner Jr.

She lived a very long and productive life living into her 90s. She managed to live her life at home and did not need long term nursing care. She was getting frail but there was still a fire in her eyes and she was always curious about what was going on in the world. She was always good to me and she never beat me. That is more than I can say about some of my other aunts. As I write this I realize that Jane was the last of my aunts on both sides of my family. They are all gone but each of them brought something special to the mix. Jane always asked me very probing questions like "What are you going to do with your life?" I did not know what I was going to do with the next week much less my whole life but she made me look into a future that I could not clearly frame.

I don't think I ever saw her mad or out of control. She always had her ducks in a row. She supported Earl through all of the ups and downs of his long career. Jane was from Iowa and she had a lot of that mid western common sense that we hear about. She was devoted to her two children and to dozens of dogs and other pets over the years. Fans of the Waltons will tell you that John-Boy had his eye on a number of different girls like Marcia Woolery. But I think that from the time Earl met Jane he never looked back.

The last time I saw Jane was at a private family memorial for Earl who died a couple of years back. It was a wonderful small get together and there were new babies to hug and memories filled to old cemetery in every direction. Jane was fulfilling a promise to Earl that some of his ashes would be scattered close to where he had grown up. His son Scott poured some good whiskey on those ashes, also at his request.

Now with her passing her ashes will be mingled with the remnants that were retained and those ashes will be scattered in the Pacific ocean. They will also mingle the ashes of 6 of her dogs that she loved so much. Only people who love dogs will understand this gesture. For most of their lives the boy from the Blue Ridge Mts and the girl from the flatlands of Iowa had stared out at the ocean from homes in California. Earl and Jane and their kids were Californians in the truest sense. They might travel back to Schuyler every once in a while, but Nelson County was no longer Home.

I wish only the best to my cousins, Scott and Carrie. They are living lives that are full of promise and it was tough to watch parents grow older and more infirm but by God were they lucky. Jane will be missed by a whole army of close friends. I think that those friends kept her going in the end. Not too long after Earls death I recall spending Thanksgiving with Jane and family in California. She sat in the kitchen and directed the flow and corralled the dogs and then she sat at the head of the table and looked out over her family. This is how I remember her, this is why I am crying.........

[jaydub87]

Absolutely beautiful tribute.

[cinlou]

From John Hankins:

The death of Jane Hamner affected me much more deeply than I would have thought possible. It hit me very hard but now that I have had some time I think that this was a cumulative loss. In the last few years we have lost Nancy Jamerson (Elizabeth) and my own mother Audrey (Erin). I include the Walton's name because that is how so many people know them. Earl's death was only 8 short years ago. I still have one uncle and one aunt from that side of the family.

The reality is that I am not sad that Jane has passed. What a long and spectacular life she led. She was there to share and support Earl with every success in a brilliant career. Hers was a life to be celebrated. What a wonderful life she carved out in the Hollywood Hills. They had houses down in Laguna where they could share the love of the ocean. They took vacations to exotic parts of the world.
She had a life that anyone would envy. When I think back to that incredible family and my grandparents and all of the noise and chaos of that house in Schuyler it all seems like a dream. All of those vital aunts and uncles are no longer with us and it seems impossible. I spent hundreds of nights in that old house and I remember Doris getting up at dawn to start the old woodstove for cooking. The house was alive with the sounds of humanity. Everybody had one goal in mind. Get to the bathroom before Nancy got in there.

Losing Jane simply amplifies this loss. It is one more step toward my own inevitable mortality. I celebrate my uncle Paul and aunt Brenda who carry on the Hamner name. May they live forever....

Earl's kids live in Vermont and California. I am sure they will handle this passing just as Jane and Earl requested. They are very private people. It is entirely possible that you may not. see much more about them. I know this is tough on Scott and Carrie but they will get through and enjoy memories of some amazing parents. I will not continue to post about her passing, that is up to others who are more eloquent than I am.

[jrijr]

Eric Scott posted this to his Facebook a few minutes ago:

The following post was from Scott Hamner. This is Earl Hamner's wife Jane. May she rest in peace. "We lost my beautiful, smart, funny Mom last night at age 95. She had a bad fall on Tuesday and could not come back from this one. She was much loved by many, and will be sorely missed— but, she had a long, amazing life".

[Heather]

Eric Scott posted shortly ago on his Facebook that our beloved Earl's wife, Ms. Jane, has passed away.

Much love and wishes of comfort to the family and all who love her.

[patriciaanne]

Oh, how sad. But lovely to know they are reunited. So sad for her family, though. 💔❤️‍🩹

[runhard]

Rest in Peace - Godspeed

[missyou123]

May she Rest In Peace and be at peace. 

[flossieskid]

I haven't been on the forum for a while, but I just read of the passing of Jane Hamner. So sad. But she lived a good long life and was a devoted wife to Earl and wonderful mother to Caroline and Scott.

Of course, I would see her and Earl, sadly, at the funerals of mutual friends - many who worked on the Waltons. But, a few years after Earl's passing, I ran into Jane and Caroline at a local Studio City store. The Hamners lived only about 10 minutes from our home.
Jane was still so lovely, white hair, beautifully coiffed, not one hair out of place. It was lovely to catch up.

When I spoke to Mike McGreevey a while back, he told me that Jane loved being a producer on the recent Walton movies. It was an amazing way to still feel close to Earl.

As someone else noted, now Jane and Earl are together again, never to be parted. No script could have a happier ending!

[Forum Administrator]

We had 2 threads about Jane Hamner on the forum, so I have merged them.   

[nedandres]

I saw Jane Hamner on a number of occasions. She always supported Earl quietly but faithfully. The characters of Jane in the 80s reunions and Janet in the 90s reunions were based on her. In 2004, at the reunion in Burbank, CA, I ran after Earl and Jane, who were outside the hotel before leaving, to say good night and goodbye. That was the last time I saw them. I shall forever cherish that memory in my heart.❤️ Good night, Jane!