UPDATED:
Funeral services for Jane L. O’Leary, 80, of Wayne will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25 at First Presbyterian Church in Wayne. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. until service time Wednesday, Feb. 25 at First Presbyterian Church. Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery in Wayne.
She died suddenly on Friday Feb. 13, 2026 at Providence Medical Center in Wayne.
Memorials may be directed to the Jed O’Leary Scholarship Fund at Wayne State College.
Arrangements are with Hasemann Funeral Home in Wayne.
Jane Louise (Nelson) O’Leary was born May 18, 1945 in West Point to LaVerne Virgil and Vivian Delma Otelia (Anderson) Nelson. She was a 1963 graduate of Oakland High School and received her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Education Degree from Wayne State College and her Master of Music History from the University of Colorado in Boulder. Later she earned her Doctor of Education at the University of South Dakota.
Jane O’Leary lived her life in motion and in service. She always had plans in progress. Even in her final days, she was preparing a sermon for church, organizing food for a special event, and carefully diagramming a sentence because to her, words mattered. Recently, after asking her daughter for help with several projects around the house, she ended the conversation by saying it was more important to help Dad first. That was Jane. She was always thinking of someone else.
At heart, she was a musician. She began as an elementary music educator and went on to serve more than four decades at Wayne State College, primarily in the music department and later in education. She earned her EdD later in life, creating a situation in which there were two Dr. O’Learys on campus. Because her husband was already well known as “Dr. O’Leary,” she happily accepted the title “Dr. Mrs. O’Leary,” which she thought was funny. She was known for being demanding and caring. She was the professor who reminded college students to wear their winter coats in January because she never stopped being “mom” to her students. A few of her students later became her physicians, including her cardiologist, whom she had once taught as a child.
Music was how Jane served. She began playing piano in church at the age of eleven and later served as organist. She devoted her life to accompanying others. For instrumental music majors at Wayne State College, she was the pianist behind juries, recitals, and performances, accompanying everyone and everything. She also played for community programs, town musicals, and several churches in Wayne whenever an accompanist was needed. For decades, her music carried families through weddings, worship services, and funerals. Just weeks ago, despite shoulder pain and arthritis, she played for a friend’s funeral because someone needed her.
Jane always said "yes." When she agreed to something, she did it completely and with enthusiasm. She invested herself fully in each endeavor, working at an Apple computer store in the early Macintosh years and later founding WordWorks, a small writing and printing business. When she felt she had done what she set out to do, she was ready for the next challenge. She served multiple terms on the Wayne City Council and co-led the Northeast Nebraska chapter of The Compassionate Friends. She particularly made her father proud as a founding member of the Wayne Chicken Show committee in 1981, earning her the local nickname “the chicken lady.”
In recent years, she continued storytelling through her podcast, Over 80 - Telling Knick Knacks, reflecting on owl fledglings, turtles crossing the road, the small philosophical moments of everyday life, and her own journey with grief. She was always observing, thinking, and shaping experience into meaning.
Jane had a quick and inquisitive sense of humor. She delighted in wordplay and improbable scenarios, often beginning with something ordinary and ending somewhere unexpected. She could move from a pun to a philosophical question with ease, inviting others to laugh and think at the same time.
As a grandmother, her support was unwavering. She never missed sporting events, marching band competitions, concerts, recitals, or school programs. When her grandchildren had solo days, she was often at the piano accompanying them herself. If they were involved, she was there, applauding every step.
She was also a devoted sister and aunt who maintained close ties with extended family. She kept track of the health and well-being of those she loved, calling, checking in, and stepping in when care was needed.
Jane left with plans unfinished because she was always building something for someone else. Her music and her words remain with us.
Jane's family includes her husband, Dr. Jay O'Leary; daughter and son-in-law, Jill and Arick Scott and their children, Abby and Mark of Bennington and daughter-in-law, Sarah O'Leary and sons Jay O’Leary and Ethan O’Leary all of Elkhorn; and one brother and sister-in-law, Sam and Cindy Nelson of Lincoln; nieces; nephews and close friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; sons, Jay D. O'Leary in 1992 and Jed O'Leary in 2015.
