Jane Staples of Dartmouth died peacefully at home on Monday December 22, 2014 after a heroic battle with cancer. She was the beloved wife of Robbi Staples of 37 years and the loving mother of her daughter Molly.
Born in New Bedford, she was the daughter of the late Ernest and Jane (Plocharczyk) Nicholson.
Jane was a graduate of New Bedford High, the University of Maine at Farmington and the University of Southern Maine. She was a life long educator at the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth and before that at Bristol Community College. Her passion was in the success of each and every one of her students. Her dedication impacted upon the lives of countless students at each institution.
Jane was also a long time Aerobic instructor and trainer. She has many long time dear friends at Healthtrax in Dartmouth where she had worked for over 20 years. Jane had also been active within her community as a coach in Destination Imagination and in supporting youth sports in both DGAL and DYSA.
Jane took great pride in her Polish heritage and kept up many of the traditions within her family. Family always played a big role within her life, both locally and with her extended family in Maine and beyond. She especially loved taking vacations and traveling with Rob and Molly. She is survived by her two brothers, Paul Nicholson of Atlanta, GA and Ernie Nicholson and his wife Mary Lou of New Bedford.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend visiting hours at the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford Tuesday December 30, 2014 from 4-7 PM. A celebration of her life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to your favorite charity in Jane's memory, or to a college fund for her daughter, the "Molly Staples College Fund" C/O New Bedford Credit Union 1150 Purchase Street, New Bedford, MA 02740. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.