AUBURN – Jane Sargent Kessler, 84, a resident of the Oddfellows Home in Auburn, and formerly of Buckfield, died peacefully on Tuesday, Jan. 15, at the Hospice House of Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice after a brief illness.

Born in Evanston, Ill., on June 7, 1923, she was the daughter of Ralph Sargent and Elise Hodges (Sargent) Connor.

She graduated from Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., received her master’s degree from NYU, and in 1958 her doctorate in education from Harvard University. Jane was a passionate and gifted science teacher and began her career at the Emma Willard School in Troy, N.Y. She later taught at the Brearley School in New York City and finally at St. Hilda’s and St. Hugh’s School in New York City, from where she retired from teaching in 1978. After her husband’s retirement in 1981, the couple moved to Monterey, Mass., where she continued to share her gift for teaching.

She volunteered at the Massachusetts Audubon Society, guiding school children on field trips to the Audubon’s Wildlife Sanctuary and assisting in the development of a wetlands education curriculum for use in the classroom. She also became a volunteer at St. Mary’s School in Lee, Mass., tutoring children and contributing her skills to help expand St. Mary’s educational resources.

Jane married Hans Kessler in Tangier, Morocco, in October 1954. She and Hans lived in Dakar, Senegal for three years during which time she worked on her doctoral thesis on the French educational system of the Senegalese. In 1957, the couple returned to the United States and made their home in New York City, where they raised their two children, Elise and Dorothea. The couple spent summers in their home in Monterey, Mass., where Jane shared her passion for biology with her children. She was well-known for taking the girls out in the canoe on a pond and collecting jars of pond scum from which she would later identify algae under her microscope. She loved walks in the woods, and identifying wildflowers, ferns and butterflies.

After Hans’ retirement in 1981, the couple made their home permanently in Monterey. Together they shared a love of walks in the woods, botany, music, history and art. Their interests led them on trips across the United States, to the Pacific Northwest where they traveled with their daughter, Elise, and her husband, John, to San Diego where they visited their daughter Dorothea, and to England, France and Germany.

A year after Hans’ death in 1997, Jane moved to Buckfield, Me., to be near her daughter Elise. She continued her love of travel, visiting her daughter Dorothea in Texas twice a year. During one such visit, she was present for the birth of her first grandchild, James, and two years later for the homecoming of her second grandchild, Elise, some of her most treasured memories. When she could no longer travel, she eagerly awaited the summer visits of James and Elise.

She was a member of the Buckfield Community Church, where she enjoyed and was active in the Bible studies.

After volunteering at the Oddfellows Home of Maine for several years, Jane moved into their residence in 2006 and found a new home. Here she joined the Rebekahs and the Red Hat Society and remained active, going on many trips including her favorite, a trip to see puffins off the coast of Maine.

Jane is survived by daughter Dorothea Dickey and husband, Zachary, and their children James and Elise, of Lake Dallas, Texas; daughter Elise Wiley and husband, John, of Buckfield; by her very special extended family, nephew Karl Kessler and wife, Ann, and their daughter, Johanna, of Ridgefield, Conn.; and niece Dottie Kessler of Bristol, Conn.; and by her other nieces and nephews, Trudy, Anne, Crispy, Ralph and Ricky.

The family would like to thank all the staff at the Odd Fellows Home of Maine for their loving support. Odd Fellows was truly a home for Jane in her final two years. The family would also like to thank the nurses, doctors and support staff at St. Mary’s Hospital for their care during her illness. Finally, a very special thanks to all who are part of the Hospice House for giving Jane and her daughter, Elise, the support and compassionate care that made the last days of her life a special gift.