Jane Theresa Sexton, née Begley, entered into Eternal Life surrounded by her family and devoted caregivers, on Thanksgiving night, November 26, 2020. Predeceased by her beloved husband Robert, she will be forever remembered as “Nana, Mom, and Jane:” the sign-off on her voice mail for the last 35 years.
Born in Richmond Hill, Queens, to Hugh and Ellen Begley, Jane was raised in Bloomfield, NJ, in the depths of the Great Depression. As a teenager, Jane lost her beloved mother, Ellen, to a long illness. Her life was lightened when her father married Margaret Ritter. “Nana Begley,” as we knew her, gently and lovingly helped Jane over her grief and launched her into her adventure as a young lady and strong woman. Jane graduated from Immaculate Conception High School, Montclair, NJ, and then attended College of Notre Dame in Baltimore. After leaving Notre Dame, Jane worked as an airline stewardess at American Airlines. She also took up other interests such as alpine skiing, then a rare sport in Jane’s circles (her favorites sortie being to Mont Tremblant in Quebec where she would go with her friend Mae Gillis).
Bobby Sexton, returned from the War and in medical school, fell in love with Jane when they both met at the Essex and Sussex in Spring Lake one summer. An encounter on the Spring Lake beach where Jane tried to shoo away Robert is part of the family lore.
Married in June 1954, Jane managed the many moves demanded of a young doctor’s family- from Jersey City, to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to Buffalo, NY. Bob and Jane fulfilled their dream by moving to the Jersey Shore in the late 1950s. Initially living in Herbertsville, they built the house at 628 Oceanview Road which was the heart of the family for many decades. Jane built a very active life at the Jersey shore centered around her family, her faith, her friends and her passion for golf.
Jane and Bob maintained a very active social life, centered on the Manasquan River Golf Club and the friends made through medical and neighborhood contacts. Dinners, vacations with friends, bible study, lecturing at church, a formidable Bridge partner, and other activities gave wide expression to her engagement with her community. Her children joked that even in their 80s, their parents had a more active social calendar than all their children combined. Yet, amid this activity, Jane also maintained a quiet center which would offer direction or a pause to consider whether things were going right, or how to help when things had clearly gone wrong.
Jane had strong foundation in her Roman Catholic faith and embraced the need of God’s grace and the love of Christ. Jane insisted on frequent Confession to name her sins, amend her life and to do penance.
Nana, made her grandchildren, ranging in ages now from 36 to 8, the center of her life. She always entwined instruction with her love- whether it was the importance of “the short game” in golf, or whether it was making your bed or writing that thank you note. In an ever more frenetic world, Nana had the ability of centering on the present moment so that each grandchild was the apple of her eye.
When one would check in on how she was doing, Nana would brightly answer, “I’m good now.” We know that “life is changed and not ended, and in death we gain an everlasting dwelling place in heaven.” Mom, we know and pray that you truly are “good now.”
Jane was predeceased by her beloved husband Robert E. Sexton MD, surviving are her devoted children and their spouses Brian Sexton and Nina Valentine, Durr and Dana Sexton, Daniel and Nadezhda Sexton, Tom and Kathy Tully Sexton, and Ellen Sexton Boade and husband Harold, her 12 grandchildren Sean Sexton and wife Kim , Scott Sexton, Katie Sexton and wife Sarah Summers, Kelsey and husband Tim Carman, Nicholas, Joseph, Renée, Roby, Tess, Meg, Matt, and Andrew, 2 great grandchildren Myla and River, her brother Kevin Begley and sister Mary Margaret Piecynski. The family is eternally grateful to the caregivers, Denise Galvao, Jennifer Newman, and Elvie Massio.
Visitation Wednesday 1:00pm to 4:00pm at O’Brien Funeral Home, 2028 Hwy 35 at New Bedford Rd., Wall followed by a Mass of Christian Burial on Thursday, December 3, 2020 at 10:30am in St. Catharine’s Church, 215 Essex Ave., Spring Lake. In lieu of flowers the Sexton family requests donations to Community of Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, Community Almoner 421 E. 155th Street Bronx, NY 10455 or online at https://www.franciscanfriars.com/donate, and the Hackensack Meridian Ocean Medical Center Foundation
425 Jack Martin Boulevard, Brick, NJ 08724
To offer condolences to the family please visit www.obrienfuneralhome.com