Jane Metcalf

Jane Metcalf, 73, of Ames, IA, passed away peacefully on November 19, 2024, with her family by her side after a brief but strong fight with glioblastoma. A visitation will be held on Sunday, November 24, 2024 from Noon to 2:00PM at Grandon Funeral and Cremation Care, 414 Lincoln Way, Ames, Iowa. Burial will be at the Rock Island National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Israel Family Hospice House, Ames, IA in Jane's name. She was born November 10, 1951, Jane Ann Bennett, to Jackson "Jack" and Dorothy Bennett in Rock Island, Illinois. She graduated from Alleman High School in Rock Island in 1969, and shortly afterward met the love of her life, Stephen "Steve" Metcalf in art classes at Black Hawk College in Moline, IL. They married i...[more]

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972. Jane and Steve had two sons and raised them in a creative environment that fostered in them a love of art and culture. Both followed their parents in creative endeavors, Jackson is an architect, and Drew is a graphic designer, and they share the love of cooking and baking from their mom with their own families. She worked at the Moline Art Gallery and later Mimzi III Gallery and developed her own artistic style. Never satisfied to do just one thing, she was an artist who always wanted to explore new mediums. Her earliest works were colored pencil and watercolor, eventually moving to acrylics and mixed mediums. She would take wood carving courses and carve Santa Claus' and create tongue-in-cheek art pieces which combined her artistic talent with her sense of humor. She designed trees and rooms for the Festival of Trees, eventually serving on its steering committee. Jane developed a love for children's book illustration and spent countless hours in her studio developing stories and illustrations, participating in the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). In her spare time, she loved to garden, always having the most picturesque garden in her neighborhood. One of the greatest things about Jane was the friendships she developed, no one was a stranger, she made friends quickly and kept them for life, she seemed to know people wherever she went. Survivors include her sons, Jackson and his wife Jenny and their son Stephen of Wheaton, IL; Drew and his husband Phyl of Ames, IA; siblings, Kate Bennett of Chestertown, MD; Mark and his wife Cathy Bennett of Blue Grass, IA; Lynn and her husband Bob Herington of Davenport, IA; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Lanny Metcalf of Raleigh, NC; Mitzi and Chris Cole of Chicago, IL; and Billy and Delia Metcalf of Grand Forks, BC. Jane was preceded in death by her husband Steve in 2020, her parents Jack and Dorothy, her mother-in-law Vera, brother-in-law Kent, her sister-in-law Cyndy, and niece Heather. Online condolences may be directed to www.grandonfuenralandcremationcare.com