Helen Jane Theriault was born on Oct.12, 1919 in Escanaba, Michigan. Her mother operated a telephone exchange in the family farmhouse.

Helen Jane Lois Theriault (nee Wagner) grew up around the Chicago area and graduated from Loyola, University of Chicago to become a registered nurse, just in time to join the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II as a flight nurse.

In 1943, in the middle of the war, she met Lt. Robert Theriault, an Air Force navigator, at a dance in a B-29 airplane hangar in Hays, Kansas. They were married a few days later, the beginning of a lifelong partnership.

After the war ended, the family relocated to the Seattle area, where Jane worked as a nurse at Harborview hospital and Bob attended The University of Washington School of Architecture.

They raised their three sons Terry, Brion and Jeffery mostly in Normandy Park, in a home designed by her husband and built by his father. They later moved to several homes on Three Tree Point to be on the water. They held large and memorable Fourth of July celebrations that brought their extended family together.

In 1992, on Bob’s retirement, they moved to Whidbey Island. They traveled widely in both the U.S. and Europe. Jane especially loved Hawaii.

Patient and loving parents and grandparents, Bob and Jane managed to raise three large boys without ever raising their voices. The family joke is that Bob and Jane made Ozzie and Harriet look like Hell’s Angels.

Jane lived a remarkably active life, participating in community activities ranging from hula dancing to a kazoo band to bridge group well into her 90s. She had a wide and loyal circle of friends and was known in South Whidbey as the “bling bling” lady for her distinctively fabulous accessories. She loved animals and enjoyed living among deer, coyotes and birds at her home near Double Bluff.

In her later years, she lived independently until she was well over 100 years old, only moving into an assisted living home at age 103. She passed away just shy of 105 years old, a remarkable and beloved woman who will be missed by her family and friends forever.

Jane was preceded in death by her husband Robert Theriault. She is survived by her three sons, two granddaughters and three great- grandchildren.