| Jane Genung Dickinson |
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Published in Ithaca Journal on February 3, 2011
Jane Genung Dickinson died on February 1, 2011 at Bridges of Cornell
Heights, her home for the past year. She was 81. Jane was born December 18,
1929, in Washington, D.C., and was the youngest daughter of Albert Benjamin
Genung and Mildred Derrick Genung.
She spent her childhood in Washington, where her father was an agricultural
economist and a speechwriter for the Department of Agriculture. The Genung
family spent summers in Freeville, NY, where Albert grew up, and when he left
government service in 1947, the family moved to Freeville permanently.
Jane graduated from McKinley High School in Washington and then took
another senior year at Dryden High School, graduating in 1948. She married
Charles "Buck" Dickinson, a Dryden classmate, in 1950. They had four children,
Charles, Rachel, Anne, and Amy.
The Dickinson family lived in Ludlowville for about a decade then moved to a
family dairy farm in Freeville in the mid-1960s.
Jane and Buck divorced in 1972, and Jane began working as a typist in the
College of Engineering at Cornell. In 1977, when her youngest daughter began
college, Jane applied to and was accepted into the College of Arts and Sciences at
Cornell, where she spent the next four years being the oldest student in the college.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1981 and a Master of
Fine Arts degree in creative writing in 1985. She taught for several years in
Cornell's writing program then spent the rest of her career as a professor in the
writing program at Ithaca College.
In the early 1980s, she moved to a little Greek Revival farmhouse she inherited
on the edge of Freeville, where she lived for the next thirty years with a succession
of house cats. She loved reading, writing, gardening, and watching movies, all of
which she passed on to her children and grandchildren. She had a wide circle of
friends who enjoyed her wry sense of humor, and she threw some legendary
dinner parties in her day.
She was predeceased by her parents and her sister, Lena Carver. She is
survived by her sisters, Jean Pearson and Mildred Sherwood; and her sister-in-law,
Anne Dickinson Murray; her children, Charles Dickinson of Florida, Rachel
Dickinson (Tim Gallagher) of Freeville, Anne Dickinson (Brian Adams) of
Rochester, NY, and Amy Dickinson (Bruno Schickel) of Dryden, NY; 10
grandchildren (Annie and Sam Scogin; Railey Savage; Clara, Jack, and Gwendolyn
Gallagher; Benjamin, Ashley and Ian Dickinson; and Emily Mason); several nieces
and nephews; and many close friends.
For the past forty years, Jane suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, a debilitating
disease that eventually robbed her of her mobility and finally, her ability to stay in
her own home. Her family would like to thank the staff at Bridges, Dr. Ann
Costello, and Hospice for their kindness and care.
There will be calling hours at Perkins Funeral Home, 55 West Main Street,
Dryden, NY from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, February 11, 2011, and the funeral
will be at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 12, 2011, in the Freeville United
Methodist Church, followed by a luncheon.
Please direct memorial contributions to the SPCA of Tompkins County, 1640
Hanshaw Road, Ithaca, NY 14850. www.perkinsfuneralhome.com
Jane Genung Dickinson died on February 1, 2011 at Bridges of Cornell
Heights, her home for the past year. She was 81. Jane was born December 18,
1929, in Washington, D.C., and was the youngest daughter of Albert Benjamin
Genung and Mildred Derrick Genung.
She spent her childhood in Washington, where her father was an agricultural
economist and a speechwriter for the Department of Agriculture. The Genung
family spent summers in Freeville, NY, where Albert grew up, and when he left
government service in 1947, the family moved to Freeville permanently.
Jane graduated from McKinley High School in Washington and then took
another senior year at Dryden High School, graduating in 1948. She married
Charles "Buck" Dickinson, a Dryden classmate, in 1950. They had four children,
Charles, Rachel, Anne, and Amy.
The Dickinson family lived in Ludlowville for about a decade then moved to a
family dairy farm in Freeville in the mid-1960s.
Jane and Buck divorced in 1972, and Jane began working as a typist in the
College of Engineering at Cornell. In 1977, when her youngest daughter began
college, Jane applied to and was accepted into the College of Arts and Sciences at
Cornell, where she spent the next four years being the oldest student in the college.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1981 and a Master of
Fine Arts degree in creative writing in 1985. She taught for several years in
Cornell's writing program then spent the rest of her career as a professor in the
writing program at Ithaca College.
In the early 1980s, she moved to a little Greek Revival farmhouse she inherited
on the edge of Freeville, where she lived for the next thirty years with a succession
of house cats. She loved reading, writing, gardening, and watching movies, all of
which she passed on to her children and grandchildren. She had a wide circle of
friends who enjoyed her wry sense of humor, and she threw some legendary
dinner parties in her day.
She was predeceased by her parents and her sister, Lena Carver. She is
survived by her sisters, Jean Pearson and Mildred Sherwood; and her sister-in-law,
Anne Dickinson Murray; her children, Charles Dickinson of Florida, Rachel
Dickinson (Tim Gallagher) of Freeville, Anne Dickinson (Brian Adams) of
Rochester, NY, and Amy Dickinson (Bruno Schickel) of Dryden, NY; 10
grandchildren (Annie and Sam Scogin; Railey Savage; Clara, Jack, and Gwendolyn
Gallagher; Benjamin, Ashley and Ian Dickinson; and Emily Mason); several nieces
and nephews; and many close friends.
For the past forty years, Jane suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, a debilitating
disease that eventually robbed her of her mobility and finally, her ability to stay in
her own home. Her family would like to thank the staff at Bridges, Dr. Ann
Costello, and Hospice for their kindness and care.
There will be calling hours at Perkins Funeral Home, 55 West Main Street,
Dryden, NY from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, February 11, 2011, and the funeral
will be at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 12, 2011, in the Freeville United
Methodist Church, followed by a luncheon.
Please direct memorial contributions to the SPCA of Tompkins County, 1640
Hanshaw Road, Ithaca, NY 14850. www.perkinsfuneralhome.com