[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 134 (Friday, October 11, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1843]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING MS. JANE PRICE TOBIN

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 10, 2002

  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I do not want to let this session of the 
107th Congress end without commemorating the passing of a dearly loved 
member of my constituency, Mrs. Jane Tobin of Monument Beach. Mrs. 
Tobin died, on June 16, 2002. She was a resident of Monument Beach 
since 1973, when she and her husband, Lt. Col. Edward Tobin moved there 
after his retirement. She is survived by her son, Peter and his wife 
Sharon, of Redmond, Washington, her grandchildren, Jason, Jodi, and 
Adam Bannerman, the children of her late daughter, Kathy Bannerman and 
her husband Moss, one brother, James Price, and countless nieces, 
nephews and friends.
  Known as Jen to her siblings, Jane was born on January 8, 1914 in 
Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Jenny and Edward Price. She was the 
second oldest in a close knit family that included her three brothers, 
Edward, John and James, and one sister, Joan. Jane attended Our Lady of 
Guadelupe grammar school and graduated from Madison High School in 
Brooklyn in 1932. She married Edward Tobin, also of Brooklyn on October 
5, 1940. Ed worked for Con Edison until the war broke out and he joined 
the Army Air Corps in hopes of becoming a pilot. An injury prevented 
this and in the early years of the war he served as a pilot instructor 
before being transferred to the Quartermaster Corps. During these 
years, Jane foreswore the comforts of her parents home to travel with 
her husband. She often reminisced about their early experiences, joking 
that off-base housing was so sparse they she and Ed once shared a 
``cottage'' in Arkansas that had been a chicken coop.
  The young couple started a family in 1945 with the birth of their son 
Peter. Almost two years later they were blessed with a daughter, Kathy. 
Ed decided to make the military his career, and when he went to the 
Phillippines in 1947, Jane followed later on a troop ship with their 
two small children, Peter, then age 3 and Kathy, then thirteen months 
old. This ``adventure'' as Jane characterized it, began a series of 
journeys that would take her to military bases overseas and throughout 
the US, including the Phillippines, Cape Cod, Alaska and Newfoundland.
  When Jane and Ed returned to the United States from the Phillippines 
in 1948, they were quartered in the Nahant, Massachusetts, Mifflin 
Estate, which was the family home of John Cabot Lodge. This posting 
brought Jane's parents and siblings geographically closer to her and 
occasioned many happy family get togethers. It also began Ed and Jane's 
relationship with the great state of Massachusetts. In 1950 they were 
transferred to Camp Edwards on Cape Cod, where they bought their first 
home.
  Jane's innate curiosity and graciousness made her a perfect partner 
in her husband's career which, after Camp Edwards, took them to 
Chicago, Alaska, Texas, and Washington, DC, where Lt. Colonel Tobin 
retired. Ed then became a civilian employee, running base exchanges in 
Newfoundland, Amarillo Texas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Throughout 
this period Jane made sure to go home at least once a year to see her 
parents in Brooklyn and to help care for them and other elderly 
relatives.
  In 1973 Ed retired completely and the couple headed East, where their 
fond memories of the Cape brought them back to Monument Beach. There, 
Ed could enjoy his fishing and golf and the two of them were often seen 
on late summer afternoons taking a quick dip at ``Mo Beach.'' They also 
bought a camper so that they could continue traveling and visit family 
members and the many friends they had made over the years. They were 
able to share the joys of retirement until Ed's death in August 1982.
  Deeply saddened by the loss of her lifetime partner, Jane's deep 
faith and courage helped her through this difficult period. Her desire 
to stay active and contribute found expression in her membership in the 
Ladies Guild at St. John the Evangelist in Pocasset, and her part-time 
volunteer job at the St. Peter's Thrift Shop in Buzzards Bay. Jane also 
continued to spend time with her family, traveling to Louisiana and 
Texas to be with her daughter Kathy and Moss and their young family, 
and to Australia where her son Peter and his wife were living (and 
where at age 80, she went scuba diving). Shaken by the sudden death of 
her daughter Kathy in 1993, Jane's remarkable faith and courage helped 
her through that most unexpected and dreadful of parental experiences. 
Although deeply saddened, Jane carried on with grace, never giving in 
to anger, bitterness or complaint. She continued her travels and 
volunteer work, and graciously opened her home and heart to family and 
friends every summer.
  Her thoughtfulness, genuine interest in people, and her warmth, 
openness, and grace drew people of all ages and backgrounds to Jane. 
Jane's reserve led her often to wonder why so many people wanted to 
spend time with her. When told that one of her doctors had referred to 
her in a medical report as ``a truly delightful patient,'' she was both 
skeptical and surprised. But such assessments came as no surprise to 
Jane's extended family and friends. Her innate modesty kept her from 
seeing what everyone around her saw--a woman who had led an 
extraordinarily interesting life, who was always interested in others, 
who did not judge people but accepted them as they were, and whose 
serenity and grace were an inspiration to everyone.
  At age 89, Jane's faith in God, which had characterized her life and 
inspired so many around her, took her to the home she had so faithfully 
sought. She was, in her words, ``ready to go,'' and her passing was as 
gracious as was her life. 1, along with many in my constituency and 
elsewhere are saddened by the loss of such a remarkable woman. Her 
presence enriched all who knew her, and I extend my heartfelt 
condolences all of Jane Tobin's family and friends.

                          ____________________