Jane Elizabeth Scott Haines

Jane Elizabeth Scott Haines
July 5th, 1951 – November 29th, 2024

Shawnee, Kansas – Jane Elizabeth Scott Haines passed suddenly on Friday, November 29th, 2024 at her home. Jane was a smart aleck who was extremely easy to love. She was known for her sense of humor – cracking jokes right until the end. She leaves behind many wonderful friendships and happy memories. Jane’s celebration of life will be held at Old Mission United Methodist (5519 State Park Rd, Fairway, KS 66205) on Saturday, December 7th at 11:00 AM. The service will be live-streamed for those who are unable to attend in person at the following link: https://vimeo.com/event/4770190/12e1aee9da. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the family GoFundMe (https://gofund.me/11d4346f) or to Pets for Life – an organization she loved.

Jane grew up in the greater Kansas City area, living over on Windsor Drive and graduating from Shawnee Mission North High School in 1969. Jane went on to major in elementary education and minor in art at Baker University (class of ’73). While there, Jane joined the Tri Delta sorority, where she made many sisters for life. Jane was also involved in Playmen, the theatrical troupe at Baker, taking part in several productions over her years there.

After graduating, Jane was invited to join BOTAR (Belles of the American Royal), where she was an active member. Jane worked as a legal secretary for some time before pursuing a career in teaching. Along the way she met Scott Haines, and the two married in September of 1989. In April of 1991, Scott & Jane became a family of three, with baby girl Anne Elizabeth’s arrival. Jane became a single mother in 1998 when Scott suddenly passed, and she and Anne became a close mother/daughter unit. Jane was very involved in Anne’s life, taking her to many Girl Scout events (even becoming a troop leader), enrolling Anne in ballet, and encouraging Anne in all the many different musical instruments she tried to play – just to name a few examples. She always made sure that Anne didn’t feel the lack of another parent.

After substitute teaching for several years, Jane finally got her own classroom, teaching second grade: first at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic school, and then at Longfellow Elementary in the KCMO school district. Second grade was Jane’s favorite age to teach, although she did also teach kindergarten and fifth grade for a few years as well. Jane brought so much creativity to her classrooms and made learning a fun thing to do. She had many close relationships with her students and their parents, continuing to support them throughout the years. Her kids were very important to her and held a special place in her heart. Jane went back to Baker to receive her Masters in Education in 2009 – proving that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks! She continued teaching until 2013, when her medical issues forced her to retire.

In her later years, Jane enjoyed crafting (she never met a craft she didn’t like), watching TV (Great British Bakeoff, Survivor, The Carol Burnett Show, Family Feud, Chiefs games, travel logs, etc), and playing games like dominos or Skip-Bo. She also was introduced to Postcrossing, which she loved doing with Anne – getting a postcard from someone half way around the world was the highlight of her day. Jane was always a dog lover, but also loved cats, birds, and took a recent interest in bees. She wasn’t shy about asking people to bring her things like coffee from Dutch Bros or a Crunchwrap Supreme from Taco Bell, or to ask them for a bite of their spinach dip. She was always cold – complaining if someone opened her window up – and could often be found sitting outside in the sun. She served as Resident Council Co-President and was a member of the community service group The Purple Hat Gals at her facility, and enjoyed her social life very much.

Jane’s proudest accomplishment was not her Masters (which she was still rightfully proud of) but rather her beautiful and compassionate daughter, Anne Elizabeth. Her support of Anne never wavered – attending every theatre production and concert, talking with her on the phone every morning to hear every small detail of her life, bragging about her to anyone that would listen. She loved Anne more than anything.

Jane will be deeply missed by all who were lucky enough to know her.

“Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.” – Wicked