Jane McLaughlin, a longtime resident of Mountain View, Missouri, died on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, after a brief illness at Ozark Healthcare in West Plains with her family at her side. She was 90.
After raising a family in St. Peters, Missouri, Jane and her husband, Jack, moved to Mountain View in 1990 for their retirement years. Jane was anything but sedentary, though, throwing herself into community and church activities with her hallmark steady determination.
Among other activities, Jane was a Heavenly Duster at St. John Vianney Catholic Church. She served on the board of trustees of the Mountain View Public Library. She worked as a typist at the Mountain View Standard newspaper. She also served as a hospice volunteer. She was an active member of the Mountain View Garden Club and canvassed for Barack Obama during the 2008 U.S. Presidential election.
Jane was born Lois Jane Means on August 3, 1934, in East Alton, Illinois to the late Albert and Rose (Willoughby) Means.
Always a voracious reader, Jane was editor of her high school newspaper. One of her first jobs following graduation was working for a travel agency. This allowed her to travel extensively. She saw the ancient ruins of Rome, the Palace of Versailles in France, and the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City.
Jane married John Edward McLaughlin on April 29, 1961, and they spent their honeymoon at Montauk State Park, setting the stage for 42 years of marriage and countless fly-fishing trips.
Jane and Jack settled in St. Peters, Missouri, where they raised their four children. Jane worked as a full-time legal secretary and around-the-clock mom. Without missing a beat, she drove her kids to all their sporting and social activities: ice hockey, soccer, softball, baseball, Girl Scouts, and Boy Scouts. She also served a short stint as “the worm lady” for her skill at baiting the fishing hooks of young anglers. She did not like that nickname but was always a good sport for some hijinks. Jane was always happiest when spending time with her children and grandchildren.
“Mom was game for anything,” Tom, her oldest son, recalled. “When we played hockey in the basement, mom would play goalie with a laundry basket over her head to protect her face from slapshots.”
A summer family tradition was packing up their Chevy Suburban for the 1,500-mile drive to Montana, where they would camp and fly fish for three-week stretches.
“There was only one time when Mom reached her limit on these long camping trips,” Tim, her youngest son, recalled. “After several days living in a leaky tent during a torrential downpour, my mom demanded that we stay in a Holiday Inn 90 miles away. My dad didn’t want to do it, but my mom sort of growled at him and we had a great time at the Holidome.”
In Mountain View, Jane really hit her stride. She was fiercely independent and a lifelong learner. She read several books a week, nurtured her perennial flower garden, and played cards with her close circle of friends. Even in her late 80s, Jane cut her own grass with a push mower.
Her family would like to thank her circle of friends for their unending support and friendship, especially during her recent stretch of frailty. Those friends include Shirley Scott, Donna Barry, Ruth Smith, and Irma Cornelison. How fitting that mom particularly loved these words from Mary Stewart’s prayer “Oh Lord, let me not forget to be kind.”
Also gracious thanks to her neighbors and the Mountain View and St. John Vianney communities for their support, along with special appreciation to Dianna Cole and the kind folks at Ozark Healthcare.
She is survived by her four children, Tom (Jeana Patterson) McLaughlin of St. Louis, MO, Nancy (Mike) Bauer of Chesterfield, MO, Tim (Suzanne Daley) McLaughlin of Boston, MA, and Kathleen (Pete Smith) McLaughlin of Bend, OR; her four grandchildren, Patrick Bauer, Emma McLaughlin, Everett McLaughlin and Holden McLaughlin; and many treasured nieces and nephews.
Jane was preceded in death by her husband, John (Jack) McLaughlin, who died in 2004; Her brother, Ray Means; Her sister, Mary Ellen Claussen; and her parents, Albert and Rose Means.
A memorial Mass for Jane will be held at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Mountain View, Missouri, followed by a luncheon in the church hall. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Mountain View Public Library or St. John Vianney Catholic Church, Mountain View.
