WILMINGTON — Jane Crawford Lyons, 87, formerly of Sarasota, FL, passed away peacefully on January 23, 2026. In recent years, she resided in North Carolina near her daughter and granddaughter, Erin.
Jane was the daughter of Howard and Ruth Crawford, born on March 27, 1938, and grew up in Montclair, New Jersey. She spent many happy summers at Camp Quinibeck in Ely, Vermont. She attended Mt Hebron school and graduated from The Kimberly School on its 50th anniversary where she played on six different sports teams her senior year. She attended Wheaton College in Massachusetts for two years before completing her degree in Physical Education (of course) at University of New Hampshire. She met her first husband, George Davis, there and they welcomed three children into the world in the 1960’s. They soon relocated to Florida. Following some years devoted to raising her children, she returned to teaching, a career she loved, particularly her time at Canterbury School of St Petersburg. Every summer she took her children back north particularly to visit her mother on Lake George in New York.
Jane will be remembered for her welcoming broad smile. While living in Florida, she greatly enjoyed traveling with her husband John along the East Coast aboard the Amtrak Auto Train, visiting friends and family. She loved snow skiing with the Sarasota Ski Club, cruised the Bahamas by sailboat courtesy of Edie and Larry Smith, played tennis into her 70’s at Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club, sailed Sarasota Bay with the Luffing Lassies, volunteered for SPARCC Treasure Chest, and eventually adapted to playing card games with friends.
She cherished the holiday gift giving season even as her family grew to include more than twenty grandchildren. She attended several of her grandchildren’s weddings including Ford and Katie’s elopement. Her final three road trips were to Gastonia, NC, where her younger brother Brook and his family live, celebrating her own 85th birthday, Joyce’s 80th birthday and Debbie’s 60th birthday.
Jane is survived by her children and their spouses: Debbie, Toby and Ann, Andy and Trina, her 14 grandchildren (and their spouses) and 4 great grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother, Brook Crawford, his wife Joyce, and their daughter Julie, her only niece; and her 3 stepdaughters and their spouses – Chris and John, Cathy and Fritz, and Caren and 6 more grandchildren and 1 great grandson. She was preceded in death by her husband of 35 years, John Lyons; her brother, Robert Crawford; and her grandson, Jesse Debenport.
The family extends heartfelt thanks to the caregivers at Brookdale Memory Care in Wilmington, where Jane lived for over two years, to her hospice caregivers from Amedisys; and to the compassionate staff at The Davis Community for the care she received most recently. The family is deeply grateful to all who have reached out with fond memories, love and support in remembrance of Jane Crawford Lyons. Jane will be interred in a private ceremony at Sarasota Memorial Park next to her husband John Lyons.
