Jane Cotton Weidman

Marjorie Jane Cotton was born in Laurel, Mississippi, on February 24, 1935 to William A Cotton and Marjorie Delbridge Cotton—she was the middle sister of the three “Fabulous Cotton Girls” (Ann, Jane & Nancy). Her family moved to Ukiah, California when she was a teenager. She attended the University of Oregon as a theatre major where she met her husband Ron Weidman (a graduate student in the department). They were married in 1957.

Jane and Ron moved to Oakland and she worked as an elementary school teacher before their two children, Anna and Chris, were born. When her children were still young Jane went back to school to get her Master’s degree in Education in the evening program at Hayward State University. The family lived in England and travelled extensively in Europe during Ron’s 1973 sabbatical.

Widowed unexpectedly at 40, Jane went back to work full-time as a teacher at Cañada College. During the next 24 years at Cañada, Jane took great pride in her work in the classroom (teaching reading and study skills), running the Women’s Reentry Program, and helping to launch the college’s Learning Center. She retired in 1999.

In her post-retirement years she found enormous joy in her work on the board of Project Read, the Redwood City Friends of Literacy Program. During these years her work in the Redwood City County Jail training inmates who could read how to become literacy tutors for their fellow inmates who could not was one of the greatest periods of fulfillment in her life. In 1989 Jane co-founded the Trivia Bee an annual fundraiser at Cañada College for the Redwood City Friends of Literacy that has served as a successful model for many other non-profit organizations throughout the country.

Jane’s passion for travel, reading, theatre, opera, and entertaining was surpassed only by her love of spending time with her family, friends, and colleagues. For her 70th birthday celebration she rented a Tuscan villa for a month and invited family and friends from all periods of her life to join her there. She knew how to throw a great party! Since 2002 (and until COVID struck) she held an open house each Tuesday evening for her “salon” (which her kids nicknamed “Saloon Salon”) for a group of her dearest colleagues, friends, and neighbors. She travelled the world including trips to Yap and Micronesia to visit her sister Nancy and her family and to Norway to visit sister Ann and her family. She and her sisters also shared memorable cruise trips with their parents in their later years.

The entire family is enormously grateful to the long-term, loving caregivers that she had including Sela Fifita and Patriciah Kagiri who were with her in her home at her peaceful end.

Jane was preceded in death by her husband Ron, parents, sister Ann, brothers-in-law George and Paul. She is survived by her beloved sister Nancy Barker, daughter Anna (Charles), son Chris (Renae), grandsons Walker Robinson and Logan Weidman, and dearly beloved nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in her name can be made to the Redwood City Friends of Literacy Program or to the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Belmont.

A live streamed (virtual) funeral service will be held on March 27, 2021 at 1:00 pm followed by a Zoom reception. Please contact “janeweidmanmemorial@ gmail.com” for details.