Jane Wyman Donnelly Birks

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Birks, Jane Wyman Donnelly Age 95 passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 30, 2019, at her residence in Saint Paul following a brief illness. She was born in Minneapolis to Arnold Douglass Wyman and Ellen Catlin Wyman. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her sister, Elizabeth Wyman Chandler, by her husband, Donald W. Birks, and his children David Birks and Lee Birks Dexter. Survivors include children from her first marriage, Ellen Catlin Donnelly and husband Hampton Watkins, Jane Wyman Donnelly and husband Michael Rosenberg, and David Caufield Donnelly, Jr.; two grandchildren, Ellen Wyman Watkins and Catherine Donnelly Rosenberg, and a great granddaughter Isabella Donk; a sister, Patricia Wyman Jahnke; numerous beloved nieces, nephews, grand nieces, grand nephews, and cousins. She is also survived by a stepson, John L. Birks, & stepgrandson, Christopher Birks. During her adult life Jane was an advocate for individuals with developmental disabilities. Jane was the first parent advocate at the Minnesota legislature for The ARC Minnesota, a capacity in which she volunteered for fifteen years. Jane served as a board member, board president, and spokesperson for ARC of Saint Paul, as chairs of the boards of Minnesota Diversified Industries and Mental Health Resources, and as Executive Director of The Developmental Services Organization. She served on numerous State Committees, Governors' Commissions, and was active in the United Way of Saint Paul and other charitable organizations. Jane earned her private pilot license at age fifty and with her husband visited by air many countries in the Western Hemisphere. She was a highly competitive tennis player, an active swimmer, a voracious reader, an accomplished writer and artist, and an enthusiastic Vikings fan. All said, Jane most enjoyed the company of her family and friends. A celebration of her life will be held at 10AM on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at the Lakewood Cemetery, 3600 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, MN. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be sent to her son's sheltered workshop at: Merrick Inc., 3210 Labore Rd, Vadnais Heights, MN 55110 or to ARC Minnesota, 2446 University Ave. W., Saint Paul, MN 55114.

Published on July 14, 2019