Jane E Haynes' Obituary
Jane E. Haynes, 104½, former longtime resident of Fountain Hills, passed away peacefully July 19, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ.
Jane grew up in Pickaway County, Ohio on the family farm, where she started her lifelong interest in plants and herbs. After high school she attended the Cincinnati Academy of Commercial Art, and began a career as a layout artist and art director for Wm. Taylor & Son, Cleveland, Ohio; there she met and married her husband Francis H. Haynes, (dec.1995).
Jane joined the Western Reserve Herb Society in 1962 to further her interest in plants. She was the first curator of their Dye Garden. Upon retirement, she and her husband flew to Fountain Hills, Arizona and moved there permanently on Jane’s birthday, Feb. 20, 1974.
Jane and her husband became charter members of the Fountain Hills Presbyterian Church. She was president of Fountain Hills Green Branch Garden Club in 1974. Then in 1975, she and her daughter founded The Fountain Hills Botanical Garden, a nature preserve and hiking trail. In 1976, she started a monthly column on native desert flora in and around Fountain Hills, “Exploring Among Saguaros” for The Fountain Hills Times that published for 26 years; she drew the line illustrations which accompanied each article. She founded the Fountain Hills Herb Society & Garden Club in 1981 and in 1988 co-founded the Arizona Herb Association, becoming their first Herbie Emeritus.
Over the years, Jane had numerous articles published on herbs and native desert plants and taught such classes at Rio Salado Community College. In 2005, Jane was inducted into the Lower Verde Valley Hall of Fame in Fountain Hills. The following year, she received the Nancy Putnam Howard Award for Excellence in Horticulture from The Herb Society of America, and presented solar dyeing in the Southwest to the Society’s annual national education conference. Her article, “Natural Colors: Solar Dyeing,” was published in the Herb Society’s 2007 issue of the Herbalist.
Besides Jane being a curious individual, especially with plants, she was also adventurous, hiking the Grand Canyon at 70, flying in a hot air balloon at 75, hiking the Canadian Rockies and climbing Mayan pyramids at Tikal in her 80’s, and of course, jumping out of an airplane for her 100th birthday. Her philosophy was always, “If I wanted to do something, I just did it.” Her philosophy on a long-life: “always wear a smile.”
She is survived by her children, Robert (Adele) and Patricia (David Devoucoux), her grandchildren, Catherine Devoucoux, Christine Haynes, Amanda Mott (Ben), her great-grandchildren Emma Rose and Maxwell Mott, and nephews Jim Hoag (Sandy), Rodney Eakin (Kathy) and niece Barbara Eakin. A Graveside Service will be held Friday, August 4 at 2 pm at Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery, 6265 Columbia Road, North Olmsted, Ohio 44070. A celebration of her remarkable life will be held at a later date in Fountain Hills, AZ.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Jane Haynes Scholarship Fund at the Arizona Herb Association: https://www.azherb.org/scholarships/. Donations may be sent to: Arizona Herb Association, PO Box 63101, Phoenix, AZ 85082-3101. All donations are tax-deductible.
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