Mary Jane Timmerman

Mary Jane (Cunningham) Timmerman, age 97, passed away on Monday, March 4, 2024, at Brookdale/Jackson Oaks in Jackson, Tennessee.

  She was born on December 19,1926, in Oak Park, Illinois to the late Edward Cunningham and Winifred MacDonald Cunningham. Mary Jane earned her Bachelor of Fine Art and Master’s of Art History from the University of Illinois. Mary Jane was a Collegiate Instructor at the University of Illinois and Murray State University, having taught thousands of students in her teaching life. She loved to take college students on Summer European Studies and walk them into exhaustion daily, experiencing museums, cathedrals, and historic buildings. Her love of reading and learning was with her every day. Her children were always amazed how she raised five rambunctious children while completing her graduate work. She always told them that college was about “Learning how to Learn “. Many of her other Loves were reading mysteries, cooking, dancing to Latin and French music, and “Artsy” parties with her friends. 

  In addition to her parents, Mary Jane was preceded in death by her son, Bruce Edward Timmerman.

  She is survived by her daughter, Gail Timmerman-Vaughan and husband David of Christchurch, New Zealand; son, Garth Timmerman and wife Lisa of Brownsburg, Indiana; daughter, Michele Jackson and husband Iain of Three Way, Tennessee; and daughter, Greta Lovell of Jackson, Mississippi; eleven grandchildren and sixteen great grandchildren. 

  The family would like to say a special thank you to the staff of Brookdale/Jackson Oaks and AseraCare Hospice for their care and support of Mary Jane as she transitioned from this life. 

  A Memorial Service to celebrate Mary Jane’s life will be conducted on Saturday, April 6, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 309 East Baltimore Street, Jackson, Tennessee with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer a donation to the American Diabetes Association.