Jane Paley Price’s obituary said she was a wife, mother and grandmother, and enjoyed a varied career as an educator, writer and award-winning television producer. She was all of those. But to us who worked with her at the Easton Courier, she was also our friend.
Easton is richer because she moved here from Manhattan 18 years ago. The Easton Courier is richer because she was with us for three years as a founding board member and contributor.
Citizens For Easton’s annual Farm Tour, which celebrates the town’s farms and farmers, is richer because of her involvement. Easton is safer from development that could harm its fragile watershed because of her volunteer work with Citizens for Easton.
Jane spread joy with her stories of the varied species, big and small, living in Easton; woodpeckers, goats, a spotted bobcat, a missing tortoise, a donkey named Henry, who she fed every day with her pal Bill Diamond during her daily walks, and her gassy and stubborn rescue dog Knuckles.
Easton’s arts community is richer because she wrote about it with pride, depth and wit. Who could ever forget her profile of local arts impresario Dolly Curtis, and her reporting on the history of Snow’s Farm on Sport Hill Road in Easton. Both stories won her Excellence in Journalism awards from the Connecticut chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Jane wrote holiday messages for Passover, Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah, Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day. In each message she reminded us of the deeper meanings behind the family rituals and public traditions we keep.
In a 2020 Labor Day message she asked readers to take “special pleasure in the holiday knowing the tomatoes and corn will still be at peak, and the tiny chill in the air will presage the changing of nature’s palette to vivid reds and golds. The best apples and pumpkins will be bountiful. This is Easton at her glorious best.”
Her reflections on the changing seasons and how nature reveals itself after a summer or winter storm, celebrated the many natural gifts she cherished living in Easton. To her, an overflowing brook on Everett Road after a heavy snow storm was an invitation to reflect, meditate and enjoy the moment.
Jane’s updates published on municipal voting days were less about the competition and more focused on capturing moments with friends with diverse political views mingling and engaging in friendly conversations. She cared deeply about Easton. We remember how much it hurt her to see Easton being factionalized by politics.
In a column titled Ode to Joy, aimed at those who use public forums as a way to vent personal animosities, she had this to say: “Our preservation and conservation challenges have been hard-fought and won by a clear majority of our citizens. We can continue to protect our town from inappropriate development without vitriol. Those who use a public forum as a way to vent personal animosities are not moving any goalposts. Those who post crude and unkind comments are not attracting any new converts. We have wonderful social media available here: ‘A Taste of Easton and Redding’ is a delightful example. Read a recipe and cook something, for Pete’s sake.”
Last year in a column she shared her fears and triumphs with her ongoing battles with cancer and the friends she made on Sherwood Road where she lived. “My friends come from vastly different backgrounds, but Easton has bonded us. Our water is safe for drinking, our air is good for breathing, our farms provide for us. All in all, this is a fine place to live,” she wrote.
We are all richer because Jane chose to live in Easton.
So long, friend.
A celebration of Jane’s life will be held on Sunday, Jan. 7 at noon at Temple Israel, 14 Coleytown Road in Westport. The service will be followed by a luncheon at the temple, served in her honor.
