Way, Jane "Jae" K.
LATHAM — Jane “Jae” K. Way, 68, of Latham, died on May 26, 2020, due to earlyonset Alzheimer’s disease. She was born on December 15, 1951, in Hudson to the late Richard A. and Florence E (Couchman) Way of Columbiaville.
Jae is survived by her husband Tim; sister Joyce (Frank) Shufelt of Hudson; daughter Gina (Depew) Roetina of Athens; grandchildren, Wesley Kilmer, Bridget Kilmer and Collin Wiltsie, four great-grandchildren, two nieces and two nephews.
Jae was a 1970 graduate of Ichabod Crane High School, majoring in business, participating in the Crane Acting Troupe, Chorale and volunteering in the Library. Jae attended Columbia-greene Community College and received an A.A. in social science at the College of San Mateo and a B.A. in humanities at John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, Calif. She later achieved a Level II Practitioner of Psychosynthesis after training in Amherst, Mass.
Jae wore many hats over her 68 years. Her first job was a bookkeeper at Bedell’s Express. Later jobs included administrative assistant and chief of staff roles at the N.Y.S. Assembly, N.Y.S. Senate Campaign Operations Manager for the Late J.W. Hasper of Allegheny County N.Y., assistant executive director of Communications and Operations for CLAS (County Legislators and Supervisors Association of New York State), director of administration, Pyramid Alternatives, Pacifica Calif., and executive director, Family Service Counseling Center, San Leandro, Calif.
While in California, Jae participated in several Women’s Dream Quest retreats at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, where she became a small group leader. She brought this experience back with her to New York and formed Oneself – a holistic life coaching business that also ran women’s retreats and day programs. She was noted for one tool in particular – a traveling labyrinth she used to educate and provide a contemplative experience to others. She guided many women of all ages to discover their life’s joy and unconditional love of oneself.
After Alzheimer’s disease brought an end to her busi