Jane Rae Tarlow, z”l, passed away peacefully on March 31, 2020, while in hospice in her home in St. Louis, Missouri. She was 71 years old and is survived by her loving husband of 34 years, Leonard Stephen Barasch of St. Louis, MO. She is also survived by her devoted only child, Sarah Rachel Barasch of Philadelphia, PA. 

Jane Rae, as she was affectionately known, was born in Glasgow, Kentucky in 1948, where her family was one of two Jewish families in their county. At 13 they moved to be closer to her mother’s family in Mobile, Alabama. The stories of small Southern Jewish communities remained central to Jane’s life, as did the culture and beauty of the Alabama Gulf Coast. 

Jane’s main joys were her family and her career as a public health nurse manager. She earned her Masters in Community Health Nursing from Emory University, Summa Cum Laude, and went on to have a long and varied work life teaching nursing at several universities, managing health departments’ high risk OBGYN and maternal and child health programs, and even helped found the first hospice in the state of Alabama. For over five years, she managed HIV and AIDS cases for Eastern Missouri for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. She is remembered lovingly by so many patients, students, colleagues, and families whose lives she touched through her passionate advocacy. 

Judaism sustained her, and Jane was a longtime member of Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis, as well as a “lifetime member” of Hadassah and the National Council of Jewish Women. She was also a devoted supporter of the arts, animal welfare, and civil rights, and volunteered her time and resources whenever possible. 

Donations may be made in her honor to the St. Louis Crisis Nursery. Due to Covid-19, the funeral and shiva are only open to immediate family. Leonard and Sarah are planning a memorial celebration in honor of Jane to be held in St. Louis, tentatively in the summer of 2020. Details will be shared in this publication when those plans are finalized.