1921 – 2015

PORTLAND — Jane Frye White Stoddard died at the age of 94 years, after a brief illness, on June 25, at Maine Medical Center in Portland. She died peacefully in the presence of her husband and two of her children.

She was born on May 11, 1921, in Lewiston, to Harold Sewall White and Marion Wellman White, and was the fourth of five children. Jane grew up on Whiteholm Farm, a well-known dairy business run by the White family for many years in Auburn.

She graduated from Edward Little High School in 1939, and graduated from Bates College with a major in mathematics in 1943. Later, she pursued a master’s degree in speech pathology and audiology, graduating from Temple University in 1964.

She married Samuel Stoddard Jr. of Lewiston, a classmate at Bates College, on Oct. 16, 1943, in Auburn. At the time of Jane’s death, the couple had been married for 72 years.

For many years the couple lived in Pennsylvania, where her husband taught at Lafayette College. Jane was employed as a speech therapist in the public schools from 1959-1969. From 1969-1986, she was employed as a professor of speech pathology and audiology at East Stroudsburg State University, and became chairman of her department. The couple retired from teaching in 1986.

They maintained strong ties to Maine throughout their lives, and upon retirement returned to live in Windham on Little Sebago Lake. At the time of Jane’s death, the couple resided in the Piper Shores community in Scarborough, where her husband continues to live.

Jane was an active person with a wide range of interests. In her younger days she was an athlete, an accomplished competitive swimmer who won multiple awards. She was fond of skiing and camping, was active in the Bates Outing Club, and throughout her life enjoyed nature and the outdoors. In later years, she focused on genealogical research and was an avid reader.

She is survived by her husband, Samuel Stoddard Jr.; their three children, Samuel Stoddard III and his wife, Damaris, of Lancaster, N.H., Katherine Stoddard Pope of Falmouth, and William Franklin Stoddard and his wife, Priscilla, of Fairbanks, Alaska; seven grandchildren, Samuel Stoddard, Jacob Stoddard, Sarah Stoddard Dresen, W. Wade Stoddard, Lily Hamill, Julia Pope, and William Harte; and three great-grandchildren, Logan Stoddard, Rosalee Stoddard, and Samuel Stoddard.

Jane was preceded in death by her four siblings, John, Harold and Wallace White and Sally Byrkit.

The family wishes to thank the staff of Piper Shores and the Maine Medical Center Emergency Department and Special Care Unit for their very kind and excellent care of Jane during her last days.