Jane Barry Hartwell
1956-2023
PORTLAND – Jane Barry Hartwell, 67, of Portland, Maine peacefully entered into the embrace of her Lord on December 7, after a protracted struggle with pancreatic cancer and attended by many loving friends and family members.
Jane was an empathic, optimistic, and wise woman of deep faith. She trusted in God and in mid-career left a successful law practice to become the Youth Missioner of the Episcopal Diocese of Maine. Over 20 years as youth missioner, Jane mentored thousands of teens from Kittery to Limestone and everywhere in between. She brought to her relationships an abiding love and genuine compassion which, coupled with her intelligence and ‘no-spin’ directness, engendered love and respect in return. She could make any person she was talking to feel like the most important person in the world, a trait which drew others to her. At home, she was a caring mother to her two sons. Her chocolate chip cookies were unsurpassed!
Jane loved the peaceful beauty of nature: looking out at the backyard garden tended by her beloved husband, Davis; walking along Scarborough beach and the shoreline of the Eastern Point Retreat House in Gloucester, Massachusetts; and swimming in Lake Muskoka in Ontario.
In her retirement, Jane trained as a spiritual director and was an integral member of the Ignatian Spirituality Partnership of Maine where she used her gifts and passion to walk with others as they developed their personal relationship with God. She also served as the lay leader of her church, Trinity Episcopal Church in Portland. In recent years she found great joy in her role as ‘Grammy’ to her grandchildren, Hugo and Alice.
Jane was born in Hingham, Massachusetts to John and Marjorie Barry. She was educated at Dartmouth College and Yale Law School. She is survived by her husband of 40 years, Davis Hartwell of Portland; her son, Benjamin Hartwell and daughter-in-law, Giuliana Vetrano Hartwell of Boston; her grandchildren Hugo and Alice; and a long list of cousins and beloved friends. Jane is reunited in heaven with her eldest son, Thomas Hartwell.
Jane’s life will be celebrated with a memorial service at 11:00 am, Saturday, January 13, 2024, at Trinity Church, 580 Forest Ave. The service will be live-streamed on the Trinity Church Facebook and YouTube channels, accessible via the church homepage: www.trinitychurchportland.org. A reception will follow at the Woodfords Club, 179 Woodford St. in Portland, a short walk from the church.
Please post memories of Jane on her Kudoboard: www.kudoboard.com/boards/PWGF7itA
In lieu of flowers, please send a donation in Jane’s memory to the Eastern Point Retreat House, 37 Niles Pond Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930-4449.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Service, Buxton, www.mainefuneral.com