In Memoriam, Janice Louise Doane, 1950–2018
For 33 years, Janice Doane taught courses in English and composition at Saint Mary’s College. She was a creative and much-beloved teacher; a noted scholar; and a selfless mentor to English majors, confused freshmen, budding feminists, junior faculty, future teachers, nature lovers, and often, detective fiction enthusiasts.
Jan shaped the English Department: She served as chair and was a force in every curriculum revision during her tenure. She worked to develop the department’s foundational courses and restructured the American literature survey to include the voices of women and people of color. Jan also created courses in feminist theory, best-sellers, and detective fiction. She challenged students intellectually yet offered gentle encouragement and generous help. One student wrote of Jan, “There is something truly invigorating about sitting in Professor Doane’s class, receiving her bright smile, encouraging us to share our thoughts. With Professor Doane, I have never felt like I was merely a student but instead a partner in a rich dialogue with her.”
For over a decade, Jan directed the English Department’s Subject Matter Preparation Program (SMPP), which allows students to move directly from college to a credential program in secondary education. Working with state officials and colleagues in the KSOE, she wrote and rewrote the program’s requirements to meet state-mandated changes. Jan spent many hours meeting individually with students even in summer to insure their success. One grateful student spoke for many: “With her wonderful guidance, she is helping me to achieve my dream of becoming an English teacher, and for that I cannot thank her enough.”
Jan was also a highly productive scholar. She followed her first book, Silence and Narrative: The Early Novels of Gertrude Stein, published in 1986, with three more full-length studies of literature and culture cowritten with Devon Hodges. These include Nostalgia and Sexual Difference: The Resistance to Contemporary Feminism (1987); From Klein to Kristeva: Psychoanalytic Feminism and the Search for the “Good Enough” Mother (1992); and Telling Incest: Narratives of Dangerous Remembering from Stein to Sapphire (2001). These books received positive reviews and have been highly regarded within the fields of feminist theory and feminist literary criticism.
In addition to her books, Jan published numerous articles and reviews, and presented essays at national and international conferences. She was sought after as a reviewer of scholarly work on Gertrude Stein, women’s literature, feminist theory, and trauma studies. In 2015, her productivity and expertise were recognized with the College’s Researcher-Scholar award.
Jan was also a beloved mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. She is survived by her son, Alex Doane Mott; her daughter, Sara Doane Mott; Sara’s husband, Thom Hammond; and Doane’s granddaughter, Mavis Hammond. In addition to her children and grandchild, she leaves behind her sister, Mary Ann Doane; brothers Jim, Jerry, Bill, and Larry Doane; several nieces; and many friends.
We remember her love of hiking and of good food, her wonderful eye for places and people, and her great photographs. We remember her brilliance, her optimism, her kindness, her acceptance of the good and bad in life, and her sense of humor. She is very deeply missed by her family and friends.
In the early 1990s, Jan was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that attacked her liver; she benefited from a transplant in 2001, with her brother Bill bravely serving as a living donor. The family asks that anyone wishing to make a donation in Jan’s memory consider organizations working to prevent and cure liver disease.
The English Department will hold a memorial for Jan during the fall semester. All are invited. This summer we lost our beloved colleague and friend Professor Jan Doane.
Please join the English Department for a memorial celebration on Thursday, Sept. 13, at 4:30 p.m., in the garden of the president’s residence, Siena Hall.