'A visionary leader': Jane White dies at age 84 (2024)

Jane Baber White’s influence on the city of Lynchburg began in a garden and blossomed into a legacy of community building.

The 84-year-old, known especially for her commitment to Old City Cemetery and the Historic Garden of Harlem Renaissance poet Anne Spencer, died peacefully in her home on Monday, June 17.

She was born Jane Stafford Baber on Jan. 11, 1940 in Lynchburg to the late Charles George and Lucy Harrison Miller Baber at Virginia Baptist Hospital in Lynchburg. She married Kenneth Spencer White, a now retired attorney in Lynchburg who she met in high school, on June 23, 1962. The couple had three children: Virginia Hunter White O’Keefe, Kenneth Spencer Junior and Charles Baber.

Also in 1962, she received her Bachelor of Arts in Biology at Hollins College, now known as Hollins University, in Roanoke. While her husband finished his education in law, Jane started off working in a biology lab.

She began her career in landscaping in Lynchburg and received recognition from Who’s Who in Lifetime Achievement for her work in this field as the restoration chairwoman for the Anne Spencer garden. Jane had been personally requested to restore this garden by Anne Spencer’s son, greatly contributing to its future national recognition.

“By restoring the garden that inspired much of Spencer’s poetry, Jane added a new dimension to our understanding of the already famous poet,” current Lynchburg Museum System director and City of Lynchburg chief public history officer Ted Delaney said.

Delaney was one of many individuals who she impacted, educated and befriended throughout her life and career. Delaney, who formerly held numerous positions with Old City Cemetery and worked with Jane for more than 25 years on the cemetery and various public history projects, shared his immense gratitude for having known her.

“She was a mentor and coach to me for just about anything you can imagine,” he said. “Jane was a visionary leader. She had a special talent for inspiring and motivating people to accomplish great things together.”

Old City Cemetery, which had been badly damaged by a powerful windstorm, caught Jane’s attention in 1993. Claiming in the past that her eyes had been opened to the “dismal” state of the location, she jumped on its restoration and led a massive movement toward its revitalization while also serving as its director from 1993 to 2007.

“Jane made Old City Cemetery a vital, lively destination that now attracts tens of thousands of residents and tourists each year,” Delaney said. “She transformed the place in the best and most dramatic way possible, but without ever compromising its unique charm or character.”

Over her career, Jane spearheaded the placement of 25 state historical highway markers in Virginia. Realizing beforehand the majority of existing markers centered on white men, the military and global wars, she aimed to highlight the stories of key, historical women and people of color in and around Lynchburg.

“Jane literally changed the historic landscape in Lynchburg, bringing forgotten stories to light and ensuring that the best of our city is preserved for future generations,” Delaney said.

She is also known for her work in restoring and/or rehabilitating Aubrey Barbour Park, the Yoder Community Center, the Phillis Wheatly Shelter for Battered Women as well as the E.C. Glass High School Art Collection. Additionally, she co-founded the Friends of Tinbridge Hill group, which works to support and revitalize certain neighborhoods, charities and city agencies.

“With her leadership, transformational things happened in Lynchburg,” Delaney said. “Millions of dollars were raised for civic projects, buildings were constructed or renovated, gardens and parks were created, large conferences were held, and institutions were built.”

Over the course of her career, she authored and published three books about her work with the Anne Spencer garden and Old City Cemetery: “The Book of Attributes of the Living Horticultural Collections of the Old City Cemetery Museums and Arboretum” in 2008, “Once Upon a Time — A Cemetery Story” in 2009 as well as “Lessons Learned from a Poet’s Garden, The Restoration of the Historic Garden of Harlem Renaissance Poet Anne Spencer, Lynchburg, Virginia” in 2011. She also published a variety of magazine articles and brochures on her projects.

She received a number of awards throughout her life, notably including the Massie Medal in 1989 from the Garden Club of Virginia and the Brownson Award in 2008 from the Virginia Association of Museums. She also was a member of the Lynchburg Antiquarian Club and Hillside Garden Club.

Delaney shared how Jane’s impact on the city of Lynchburg through using her talent in restoration and revitalization to honor meaningful, often overlooked historical figures and events is eternal.

“Her sensitive blending of history and horticulture — or telling stories through plants and the landscape — will be one of her greatest legacies,” he said. “She could even make the stump of a recently cut-down tree tell a touching, poignant story about the people who planted it a century ago.”

Delaney also noted Jane’s “astounding energy” and how she built a reputation as someone who persevered and gained people’s trust by defying any obstacles in her path.

Beyond her achievements in bettering the city of Lynchburg, she was known as an incredible and involved individual, wife, mother, grandmother as well as great-grandmother.

She is survived by her husband, Kenneth; her three children, Virginia, Kenneth Jr. and Charles and their spouses; her four grandchildren, Molly Hunter O’Keefe, Samuel Spencer O’Keefe, George Baber White and Lucy Harrison White; her great-granddaughter; Nina, several close friends, including Ted Delaney and her dog, Blackberry.

There will be a memorial service and following reception beginning at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, July 17, at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Lynchburg.

Those wishing to pay their respects are asked, in lieu of flowers, to consider making a memorial contribution toward the Old City Cemetery Fund, the Anne Spencer Garden Fund, the Radcliff Cemetery and/or the Pierce Street Gateway Project through the Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation.

More information on Jane’s life, the memorial service and donations can be found through the Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory.