Jane Baxter Goeller
Jane Baxter Goeller of Cutchogue and Santa Barbara, Calif., formerly of Greenwich, Conn., died Jan. 14, 2018, of congestive heart failure at the age of 87. She had spent the week doing what she loved most: spending time with her five children, 13 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Jane was born in Glen Cove, N.Y., to William J. and Beatrice P. Baxter. She graduated from Rosemont College in 1952 and married Robert A. Goeller Jr. in New Rochelle, N.Y., Jan. 10, 1953. They raised five children together in Greenwich and retired to Santa Barbara in 1988.
Always a champion for the underdog, Jane helped start educational programs for learning disabled students in Greenwich schools in the early 1970s. She volunteered at Catholic Charities to help battered women and children get a fresh start.
Jane’s home was always open to visitors and she made sure they always felt welcome. Usually, a jigsaw puzzle was underway and they’d be invited to work on it with the family — a hobby passed down to the next two generations.
Her other hobbies included interior design, reading mysteries, playing bridge and, back in the day, bowling. She loved to watch NASCAR, figure skating and the news (lest the world stop spinning and she missed it). While she never considered herself an artist, she loved all forms of art and visited galleries and museums all over the world with her children and grandchildren. Her greatest passion (besides her grandchildren) was traveling. She took her entire family on a cruise of Alaska in 2002 and to the western Caribbean in 2016. She walked the Great Wall of China with her husband and cruised the rivers of Germany, France and Russia. She crossed the United States several times by car and later in an RV.
Jane is survived by her brother, Bill (Pat); her daughters, Pat and Beth; her sons, Bob, Jim and John; 13 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
The family will receive visitors Friday, Jan. 26. A funeral Mass and burial will take place Saturday, Jan. 27, in Cutchogue. Details can be found at northforkfuneralhome.com.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Cutchogue New Suffolk Free Library.
This is a paid notice.
