Jane Crimmins, of Plymouth, formerly of Virginia and Marblehead and Beverly, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully on March 13, 2025, after a courageous battle with esophageal cancer. She was born in Norfolk, Virginia, to Janie Mizzell Hackney and Ronea Hackney.
A proud graduate of Maury High School and Old Dominion University, Jane was an educator at heart, beginning her career as an elementary school teacher before transitioning to the airline industry. She worked in customer service for American Airlines before becoming a flight attendant with Trans World Airlines (TWA) in 1978. Based in Boston, Jane served as a union representative and board member of the International Federation of Flight Attendants. She deeply valued the friendships she formed during her time with TWA and had a lifelong passion for international travel.
Dedicated to advocacy, Jane championed numerous causes, from airline workers’ rights to women’s health, education, equality and reproductive freedom. She played a key role in founding the Marblehead Community Charter Public School and later volunteered in Plymouth, assisting low-income taxpayers and Medicare recipients.
Jane met her husband, Dennis Crimmins, in 1973 while teaching in Virginia Beach and Dennis was serving in the Navy. They married five years later following deployments, relocations and career changes, and raised their two daughters, who were born in 1981 and 1986s. A devoted mother, Jane supported her children in every endeavor, tutoring them and others in the community and encouraging them to advocate for themselves. After moving to Plymouth, she also assisted in the administration of her husband’s law practice.
Jane is survived by her husband of 46 years, Dennis, their daughters Ashley Crimmins (Tony di Fatta) and Holly Smock (Aaron Smock), and her beloved grandchildren, to whom she was a proud “Nana”: Lyanna, Connor, and Lucy. She is also survived by her sister, Dale King of Portsmouth, Virginia, and by a dear friend, Barbara Perry of Beverly, who together with her now deceased husband, Warren Perry, were family to Jane and Dennis and their daughters.
Jane donated her body to the University of Massachusetts Medical School. A Celebration of Life will be held on May 17, 2025, at the Mirbeau Inn in Plymouth, from 2 to 5 p.m. Anyone who intends to attend should email CelebrateJanesLife@gmail.com and additional information will be provided.
The family wants to thank the Cranberry Hospice nurses and other caregivers for their compassionate care of Jane while she was an in-home hospice patient.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation.