SACO – Jane A. Fredericks, 80, of Cape Elizabeth passed away on Nov. 21 at the Seal Rock Health Care facility in Saco, following a brief illness.

She was born in Rumford on March 11, 1925, the daughter of Ralph W. and Minerva French Anderson. She attended Rumford schools, graduating as salutatorian of the Class of ’43 from Stephens High School, where she was a flutist with the marching band.

In January 1944, she married Thomas Fredericks of Mexico. When he returned to the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II, she and several of her girlfriends moved to New Jersey and worked as riveters, building airplanes for the war effort.

In 1947, Jane and her young family moved to Portland, where the “big city” offered many opportunities.

Her love of music and her gift of perfect pitch enabled her to enjoy performing every style of music for the next 45 years. The piano and organ were her favorite instruments.

As a member and president of the local musicians union, she had the opportunity to fill in as pianist for many of the big bands including Benny Goodman, the Dorsey Brothers and Artie Shaw when their road shows brought them to the Pier at Old Orchard Beach in the late ’40s and early ’50s.

She was organist at Clark Memorial United Methodist Church in Portland for 18 years and became the organist at the Cape Elizabeth United Methodist Church in the 1960s when the family moved to that town.

In the mid to late ’50s, she was pianist for Lloyd Knight’s weekly music program on Channel 13 and often appeared on the Ken McKenzie TV show, also on Channel 13.

For several years, she would travel up Congress Street from Channel 13 to Channel 6, where she was the accompanist for the young talent on “Youth Cavalcade” with Cliff Reynolds and also played for “Russ Dorr’s Talent Hunt” on WCSH Radio 970, live from the old State Theater in Portland on Saturday mornings.

She was a well-known figure in the local area, playing with the Jimmy Hanson Band, Don Doane’s Band and several other local groups. She played in the Lafayette and Falmouth Hotels in the ’50s, providing piano music during the dinner hours and well into the evening. She also played in many local lounges on weekends in Portland and South Portland.

She served her family and the community in many ways. She was president of the PTA at her sons’ elementary school in Portland, was a den mother for Cub Scout Pack 112 and donated her time and talents to the Portland Lyric Theater and the local Red Cross programs. She also spent many patriotic holidays performing for various veterans’ organizations and playing Christmas music during the season at local nursing homes, Pineland Hospital and the VA Hospital in Togus.

Survivors include her sons, Thomas Jr. and his wife, Rosalie, of Lewiston, and David and his wife, Linda, of East Waterboro; daughters, Jennifer Perruzzi and her husband, Jay, of Southwest Harbor, and Rebecca Fredericks-Losee and her husband, Craig, of Alexandria, Va.; nine grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

She was predeceased by her husband of 58 years, Thomas Sr., in July 2002.