Jane Palmer Cayford

"We each choose how we wish to contribute to the community."

Jane Palmer Cayford, 78, of Wolfville, died on November 17, 2024, in the Valley Hospice, Kentville, Nova Scotia, surrounded by her loving family.

She was born on June 2, 1946, and raised in the iconic Marlborough Apartments in the Milton Parc neighbourhood of Montreal before moving with her family to the town of Magog, Quebec during her teen years, sparking a lasting love of the Eastern Townships.

Jane joked that she was put on a train to Acadia University in 1963, suitcase in hand, and never left. At Acadia, she showed a flair for drama, joining the Acadia Drama Society, where she played Mrs. Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank, and the Acadia Light Opera Society. She also showed early signs of political engagement with the Propylaeum Society, advocating for the relaxing of the women’s dress code in the dining hall in favour of dungarees, and joining the NDP Club, where she had the opportunity to meet Tommy Douglas. She had her fair share of fun, creating lifelong friendships while maintaining her honours standing in her courses achieving her B.A., Secretarial Science and B.Ed. degrees.

She taught in Schefferville, in northern Quebec for a year before returning to take a job at Acadia, rising to the position of Registrar. She was one of the first women in that role in Canada. In the Registrar’s Office, she was the face of Acadia University for many students, helping them to navigate the challenges of their undergraduate degrees. She also became the go to person for both new and experienced faculty. As Registrar, she led the move to essential but challenging innovation during a time of rapid change in information technology.

Jane married her first husband, Jim Blenkhorn, whom she met at Acadia, in 1968 and had three daughters, twins Sarah and Sally and the youngest, Christina. Jane passed on to her daughters her independence, sense of responsibility, strong work ethic, and love of fun.

Jane married James Wesley Tillotson in 1985, beginning a deep and lasting relationship based on respect, love, and common interests. Over their years together, they travelled across Canada as well as to Portugal, Chicago, Scotland, Costa Rica. Malta and Ireland, sharing good food, good company, and good music. Jane also travelled as far as to Bermuda, Belize, and Guatemala on university recruitment and international education trips and Japan in 2012 to visit her daughter, Sarah.

In her retirement, Jane became an active golfer, curler, bridge player, quilter, and (briefly) amateur saxophonist, making many friends through her wide interests. Jane loved participating and was good at seeing where her skills were needed and how to get the best people on board to get a project completed. Jane made her mark as an organizer on the Chrysalis House and the Lower Horton Cemetery boards, as a member of the Women’s Institute and president of the Ken-Wo Ladies’ Club, on the Grand Pre UNESCO committee (helping with the planting of flowers in the shape of the Acadian flag), and, perhaps less enthusiastically, as the head of her condominium board. She continued her theatrical streak as an organizer and performer with the Women of Wolfville in The Vagina Monologues and Lysistrata, as well as performing in the community production, Feelin’ Groovy.

One of her great loves was music, and she lived it in her long affiliation with the Deep Roots Festival as its volunteer office manager. She loved the excitement and challenge of accommodating and feeding hundreds of artists and making sure the festival was successful every year.

Jane was predeceased by her parents, Elmer Howard Cayford and Frances Jean Cayford; first husband, James Robert Blenkhorn; fathers-in-law, Fred Blenkhorn and Glen Tillotson; brother, John Cayford; mother-in-law, Doreen Tillotson, and sister-in-law, Joy Tillotson.

She is survived by husband, James Wesley Tillotson; daughters, Sarah Jane, Sally Alexis and Christina Kathryne; grandson, Joseph Kirk Bavis and sister-in-law, Shirley Tillotson. Her family would like to thank the many dear friends who rallied to support her during her illness as well as the medical teams and VON staff, the Annapolis Valley palliative care team, and the kind nurses and staff at the Valley Hospice.

A short service, with livestream, followed by a celebration of life will be held at 1 p.m., December 1st in the White Family Funeral Home, Kentville. Donations in memory of Jane may be made to the Valley Regional Hospital Foundation, Valley Hospice Foundation, Deep Roots Music Cooperative or a charity of your choice. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Kentville. For online condolences, inquiries and to view the video webcast, please visit: www.whitefamilyfuneralhome.com.