04 Jun Obit: Death of Jane Mason, UB Archivist

Jane Shutt Mason, 92 passed away on May 29, 2012, after an illness of several months duration. The funeral service was held Saturday, June 2, at the Myers Funeral Home in Huntington, Ind., with Dr. Kent Maxwell officiating.

In 1978, following the death of her husband, Wendell, Jane became the United Brethren Archivist. In 1988, she oversaw the relocation of the Archives from the denominational headquarters to a much larger space at the RichLynn Library at Huntington University, and the integration of the collection with the university archives. For the next 11 years, as an employee of Huntington University, she worked as Archivist for both the denomination and Huntington University.

Jane is responsible for professionalizing the denominational archives. After being named Archivist, she was sent to the National Archives in Washington DC for specialized training in archives management. Under her leadership, the United Brethren history collection was greatly expanded and items of relevance to UB history–books, annual conference minutes, magazines, and other records–were acquired. Many periodicals were put on microfilm.

Numerous people doing historical research appreciated Jane’s knowledge of United Brethren history and her helpfulness in locating the information they needed.

Jane and Wendell were very active in the College Park United Brethren Church, where she was a board member, children’s Sunday school superintendent and teacher, VBS director, and editor of the church newsletter. She also served as a youth leader with her husband. Later she was a member of the New Hope United Brethren Church in Huntington, Ind., close to her home. Since February 2009, Jane lived in Maumee, Ohio, with her daughter Barbara and her husband, Dr. Jonathan Rohrs.