Jane Lussier Strong

Jane Lussier Strong of Rock Hall, MD, died Sunday, November 20, 2011, at her home in Skinners Neck. She was 91. Jane was born July 23, 1920 in Medicine Hat, Canada, the daughter of the late Emile and Vera Lussier. Jane moved to Rock Hall, MD, with her parents, where they owned Huntingfield Farm. She graduated from Rock Hall High School, attended Washington College, where she played varsity field hockey. She was also a Knights of Columbus Swim Team South Atlantic Champion in 1936 for the Australian Crawl. Jane served in the United States Navy and was a Munitions Inspector at the plant in Chestertown, MD, making detonators during WWII. After raising her family, she moved to Westminster, MD, to live with her parents who owned Treemont Farm. While there she attended Western Maryland College and earned her BA degree. She then moved to the Yukon Territory and worked in Community Development from 1966 until 1984. There she worked for the Yukon Native Brotherhood and Council for the Yukon Indians, working for 7 of the 13 Indian Bands. Her duties included training office staff and management. There she lived in the Indian Villages in one to two room log cabins with meager accommodations. She helped the bands start their own businesses. In 1984, she retired to Rock Hall, MD, where she has worked as a volunteer at the American Legion and a reading tutor at the Rock Hall Elementary School. Jane was a founding member of the Rock Hall Yacht Club where she enjoyed sailing in many regattas. She was a lifelong member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church since 1939. Jane enjoyed visiting with friends, gardening, watching the birds in her yard, and playing her favorite slot machine at the American Legion. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a daughter, Nita Strong Hill; a sister, Nita Lussier Fitzgerald; her ex-husband, Albert Miller Strong Sr., a granddaughter Kimberly Caple; and a great- grandson, Luke Abbott. She is survived by one son, Albert Miller (Buffalo) Strong Jr. and wife Betty Ann of Chestertown, MD; three daughters, Joan Elburn of Rock Hall, MD, Roberta James and husband Stanley of Carcross, Yukon Territory, Marie Schaeffer and husband William of Hampstead, MD; two sisters, Betty Lussier of Pacific Palisades, CA, Suzanne Lussier Jones and her husband Ron of Parsonsburg, MD; 12 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 10, 2011, at 11:00 am at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 7760 Sandy Bottom Rd. in Chestertown where interment will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be sent to the American Legion Post 228, Sgt. Preston Ashley, P.O. Box 207 Rock Hall, MD 21661.

Jane Lussier Strong

July 23, 1920 - November 20, 2011