AUBURN — “I hadn’t planned to die yet, but I’ve lived a wonderful life, so it’s OK.”

These were the words with which Jane Weed reacted when told of her terminal diagnosis early this year. She went on to express gratitude for the loving relationships she had had throughout her life, with her parents, husband, brother and a host of acquaintances and close friends, some feline.

In the following months, determined to make the most of the time remaining, she let her home become a hub for visitors from near and far who enjoyed meals, movies, conversation and laughter with her. She retained her perspective, her sense of humor and her hearty laugh until just before her death.

Jane Courtney Weed, of 23 White St., Lewiston, 63, died Sept. 1 at Hospice House in Auburn.

Born in Damariscotta, June 12, 1949, the daughter of Emmett S. Weed and Mary H. Weed, she graduated from the Northfield School for Girls and from Fisher College. She was a resident of Augusta from 1972 through 1980, then made her home in Auburn, with her husband, Stephen Kottler, until they moved to Lewiston in 1988.

She had a number of jobs and careers in her rich and varied life. During the early 1970s, she was active in the Maine labor movement as one of the first women to be a union business agent, representing a largely male labor force in municipal government as she traveled statewide, organizing workers and negotiating contracts on their behalf.

With characteristic polite but fierce resolution, she broke glass ceilings in Maine, and later was joined by other women who aspired to represent their peers in the textile and papermaking unions. At that time she also was a tireless advocate for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Next, she worked her way up from an entry-level position to become director of the State Employment and Training Council.

She then turned to a career involving her visual and creative talents, and formed Jane Weed Interiors, a firm offering design services for commercial and residential properties. She was active in the Maine Interior Design Association. In addition, she worked in a plant nursery, expanding her knowledge of exterior design by learning garden design and maintenance.

As a final career, she worked in the Auburn Public Library’s circulation department from 2002 to 2005, then became the head of Circulation Services at the Lewiston Public Library. An avid reader, she enjoyed creating seasonal displays involving books and other materials, to the delight of library patrons.

Jane is survived by her husband, Stephen Kottler of Lewiston; and her brother, Capt. Jay T. Weed of Key West, Fla.

She was predeceased by her mother in 1995; and by her father in 2000.