Ms. Jane was born in Statesboro August 21, 1940, and passed on in Statesboro May 5th, 2026. In between, she spent 41 years in Schaumburg, Ill., a northwest suburb of Chicago, where she — in her words — was always “freezing to death”!
Since 2003, she resided in Statesboro with her Bill, who she met while attending art school in Chicago. Bill Anderson came into her life at a fraternity/sorority mixer on a cool November day in 1961. Neither was looking for a spouse, but it didn’t take long for them both to realize they had found their life-long partner. They married in Statesboro on the 9th day of May in 1964. She moved on to heaven just four days short of their 62nd anniversary.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Aulbert and Lingo Brannen; her brother, Bob Brannen, and his wife, Sylvia; and her brother, Aulbert Jr., and his wife, Teresa.
She is survived by her husband, Bill Anderson; sons, Steve and Bran Anderson (Stephanie); and daughter, Laurie Jane Achin (Nick); and four grandchildren, Zach Anderson, Ali Anderson, Savannah Achin and Nikki Jane Achin. All but Ali resides in Georgia: Steve and Bran in Statesboro and Laurie Jane and family in Bogart. Zach lives in Atlanta and Ali resides in Jacksonville, Florida.
Jane was born to Aulbert and Lingo Brannen of Statesboro, a farmer/businessman and a teacher, the youngest of their three children. She attended Westminster School in Atlanta for eighth grade and Stratford Hall in Durham, N.C., for high school and junior college and UGA for a semester cut short by illness. She then persuaded her Daddy to allow her to go to Chicago to attend Ray Vogue School of Art and Design. That decision defined the rest of her life.
Being a sweet, demure, lovely southern lass, with sparkling eyes and a beautiful smile, Bill soon nicknamed her his “Dixie gal”. She has always referred to him, with a proper southern accent, as ”Beal”, with two syllables.
She worked as a commercial artist until the birth of her boys, then concentrated on her true calling, being a mom.
Jane was not just a mom to her children, but to a myriad of their friends and her grandchildren. She was known by a host of titles: mommy, mom, Mrs. A, Mama Jane, Grandmama, Ms. Jane. Her children’s friends fondly refer to her as a 2nd mom:
- I love your Mom. She was a second mom to me growing up
- The best! You won the momma lottery with Mrs. A
- Mama A is the best … I love her
- You know I love your mother like my own
- She was wonderful to all of us
Her home was a gathering place for all her children’s friends, to whom she distributed love and caring by the bushel. She was never judgmental and always sweet. The door was always open. She took in several for extended time when they needed a place to stay. And her kids always had a place for her at the poker table. Jane loved to play cards with them at a large round table in the basement.
The boys and her daughter were deep into sports. For the boys, it was baseball, football, basketball and track. For her daughter, it was gymnastics, softball, basketball and volleyball, plus theatre and dance. Mama Jane did not miss many events. She was a baseball scorekeeper, baseball and football team business manager and then football commissioner. When she agreed to be the football team business manager, she was told that one of her tasks was to get a team sponsor, so she did. She had the only team with a sponsor. That led to her agreeing to be the association’s business manager.
For community and school organizations, she organized arts and crafts fairs, seasonal sports awards events with buffets and wrote newsletters. When Bill discovered skiing, she joined him on ski trips — with some reluctance — but became a confident skier, preferring the mountains of the West.
Mama Jane’s daughter, Laurie, came along 10 years after the second son. Laurie presented a challenge: she was deaf. So, Jane went to parent-infant sessions to learn communicating with Laurie, and then took sign language classes to expand her language skills. Laurie, with all her activities, kept Mama Jane on the run. Not just driving Laurie to practices, but also filling the role of interpreter. Mama Jane’s intent was to allow Laurie to have as normal a childhood as possible in spite of being deaf. Laurie played volleyball in three Deaflympics — Rome, Melbourne and Taiwan — and Mama Jane was there. She took great pride that Laurie is now on the faculty at UGA.
She eventually went back to work as a commercial artist first with Tristar Industries and then Kar Products. When it came time to retire, she told Bill she was going to retire to Statesboro and if he wanted to come, it was ok. She devoted her first years back in Statesboro to being a companion for her mother. After her mother passed away, Ms. Jane got back to her artistic ways, converting a shed at the end of the driveway to a studio, where, for many years, she created artistic greeting cards. Her Christmas cards were works of art. She was also very active in a Stamping Up Group and enjoyed playing bridge with friends.
Ms. Jane loved Georgia Southern football games and tailgating as well as enthusiastically supporting GS volleyball , a season ticket holder for both. She enjoyed theater productions and concerts. Fishing at local ponds was also at the top of her enjoyment list. She loved being with friends and family at a fish fry. Oh … she had a craving for oyster roasts, too.
She was a member of Statesboro First United Methodist Church, where a celebration of life to honor Ms. Jane will be held Saturday, May 16th, at 2 p.m. The service will be streamed online for those who would like to attend but cannot get to Statesboro. Streaming can be accessed at: statesborofirst.com, on YouTube: Statesboro First United Methodist Church; or Facebook: Statesboro First United Methodist Church.
The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, a donation be made to Statesboro First United Methodist Church, 101 South Main Street, Statesboro Georgia—30458; or to Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation/Volleyball, P.O. Box 8115, Statesboro, GA 30460.
Friends may sign the online register book at www.joineranderson.com.
Arrangements are being handled by Joiner-Anderson Funeral Home and Crematory.
Statesboro Herald, May 14, 2026
Sign the Legacy online guestbook at www.statesboroherald.com.