Jayne Kathryn Shindler

Jayne Shindler, August 8, 1936 - May 22, 2015 died peacefully, surrounded by family, in the John F. Keever, Jr. Solace Center on May 22, 2015. Wife of the late Ralph L. Shindler and daughter of the late William and Myldred Neumann, Jayne was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. Raised there, Jayne graduated from Springfield's MacDuffey School for Girls in 1953 and went on to receive her bachelor's degree in elementary education from Lake Erie College in 1957. Jayne taught third grade in Hampden, Massachusetts from 1957-1977 and was an active member of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, serving on its Board of Directors for more than a decade; she was also president of the Hamden County Teachers Association. She married her late husband, Ralph L. Shindler, in 1977, moving with him to the Asheville, North Carolina area in 1981, living for the first five years in Fletcher and then in Arden since 1986. Once settled in this area, Jayne worked in the retail clothing business for nearly 20 years. She also volunteered at the Lutheran Church of the Nativity in Arden, where she directed its Christmas Sharing fundraiser for three years. She will be especially remembered for being so carefully attuned to the needs and wishes of all those she loved, for never forgetting to acknowledge a birthday or anniversary with a card in the mail, for showing extraordinary courage in the face of her illness, and for being steadfastly devoted to her husband. She is survived by a stepdaughter Judyth L. Roberts and her husband J. Timothy Roberts of Annapolis, MD; her stepson John H. Shindler and his partner Richard E. Paine of Naperville, IL; her brother-in-law Donald H. Shinder of Borrego Springs, CA; two grandsons, Matthew H. and Timothy D. Roberts of Baltimore, MD.; and five great-grandchildren—Anna, Harrison, Dodge, Briggs, and Parker Roberts—also of Baltimore. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, July 8, 2015, at 11:00 AM at the Lutheran Church of the Nativity in Arden, NC. A burial mass will be said later in the summer in East Longmeadow, MA. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to the Ralph L. Shindler Memorial Scholarship Fund, East Longmeadow High School, 180 Maple St., East Longmeadow, MA 01028. The family would like to extend special thanks to the staff of the John F. Keever, Jr. Solace Center for the extraordinary and loving care they extended both to Jayne and her husband Ralph.