Jane Marcus
Oct. 20, 1948-Nov. 24, 2017
Palo Alto, California

Jane Marcus, longtime resident of Palo Alto and Menlo Park, passed away unexpectedly at age 69 at her 2nd home in Fort Bragg, California. She leaves an enduring legacy as a scholar, activist, mother, spouse and friend to the many people whose lives she touched.

Born in New York City to Rita and Norman Marcus, she was raised in Baldwin, Long Island. Jane graduated from Chatham College in 1970, received a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972 and earned a doctoral degree in Administration and Policy Analysis from Stanford's School of Education in 1985. She was a longtime employee in the Information Technology Services group at Stanford.

Jane married Lew Mermelstein in 1974. They lived in Philadelphia until 1976 when they taught at the American School of Isfahan, Iran. Arriving in California in 1977, they settled in Palo Alto where they raised their son, Marc, and daughter, Molly.

Jane served on the board of Palo Alto Children's Theatre, Congregation Beth Am Women for three terms as president and six years as board member of the Women of Reform Judaism. Jane was a founder of Beit R’fuah (House of Healing), a mental health support group at Beth Am, which has served as a model for groups at other synagogues in the Bay Area. She was a board member of the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center.

Jane was a longtime activist for the reform of the nation’s drug policies. She was a founding member of the Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative and a vital proponent in the passage of Proposition 215. Jane was also a Huffington Post blog contributor.

Jane will be deeply missed by her husband Lew; son Marc; daughter-in-law Jenn; daughter Molly; mother Rita Marcus; sister Jo Ann Cagen; sister-in-law Ricki Moskovitz; aunt Vivian Feldstein; and countless others whose lives were better for having known her.

Tags: teacher/educator