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Jane G. Govatos, accomplished nurse, writer

May 30, 2018

Jane G. Govatos, 75, of Lewes, who was one of the first licensed nurse practitioners in the state of Delaware, died Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at Beebe Healthcare in Lewes. She was the daughter of the late James Gordon Govatos, whose family owned Govatos Candies on Market Street in Wilmington and Ann Terranova Hultsch, who owned Terranova's Bar at 400 Tatnall St. in Wilmington.

Born in Wilmington Jan. 30, 1943, Jane attended St. Peter's Cathedral School and graduated from Padua Academy in 1960. She was also a 1963 graduate of St. Agnes Hospital School of Nursing in Baltimore, Md.

She began her career as a nurse at The George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., where she met her husband Wayne Robbins. They moved to Montreal, Canada in 1969 where they raised their son Sean, and where Jane became fluent in French. She worked as a nurse in the operating room at several area hospitals, including Lakeshore General Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Royal Victoria Hospital and Montreal General Hospital.

In July 1977, she and her family took a sabbatical year, which began with two months of camping through Europe and continued with 10 months of living in a small French village called Rioux, located close to the mid-Atlantic coast of France near La Rochelle.

In 1989 Jane left Montreal, a city she loved, and returned to Delaware to help care for her aging mother and stepfather. She settled in Lewes and reconnected with her first cousin and sidekick, Mig Reardon. The two, who had grown up more like sisters, spent summers together in Rehoboth at the family's house on Baltimore Avenue, spending their days on the beach, playing canasta on the porch of their cottage and their nights "walking the boards." Jane, who had taken a memoir writing class at the University of Delaware's Osher Lifelong Learning Center, had recently read a special remembrance of those times at the Rehoboth Writers’ Guild's Night of Songs and Stories. Jane was an active member of the guild, and had planned to write more pieces to share.

Her first job in Delaware was at Milford Memorial Hospital, where she worked in the operating room as a nurse. Always looking to better herself and to do more for her patients, Jane went back to school, earning her bachelor of science degree in nursing from Wilmington University in 1993. She continued her education and was among the first class of nurse practitioners to earn a master of science in nursing at the University of Delaware, graduating with honors in 1995. She also taught nursing at Wilmington University.

Jane worked for the next 23 years throughout the Lewes region as a family nurse practitioner, most recently with Beebe Physician Network. Her compassion and dedication to her patients earned her a loyal following.

She tried several times over the years to retire, but was always pulled back to her life's calling. Finally in September 2017, she retired, but continued to take classes to keep her license current. In recent months, she took on a new role as a volunteer for the Delaware Medical Reserve Corps, educating people all over the state on how to manage chronic diseases, such as diabetes.

Perhaps Jane's greatest accomplishments were the deep and long-lasting friendships she cultivated throughout her life. She never met a stranger. From Montreal to Lewes she was well known for her dinner parties, gathering friends to share in good conversation and good food. A lover of the arts and culture, she was a supporter since 2005 of the Rehoboth Beach Film Society, and was especially proud of her No. 10 member ID number. She was an avid reader and collector of books, a gourmet cook and a connoisseur of fine food. Her death was sudden and unexpected following a routine surgery, and she will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her son, Sean Robbins of Vancouver, Canada; her cousin Marguerite M. (Mig) Reardon and her husband Bill Reardon of Lewes; and her stepfather Maurice "Bob" Hultsch of Wilmington.

She is survived by her former husband Wayne Robbins of Toronto, Canada; her sister Suzanne Franck and her husband Peter Franck of Hockessin; her nephews Matthew Franck of Lawrenceville, N.J., and David Starr of Montreal; her niece Ellen Franck of St. George, Utah; her cousins Elizabeth Gellene of Needham, Mass., Marguerite Gaines of Wayne, Pa., Amy Gliptis of Silver Spring, Md., William P. Reardon Jr. of Millsboro, and their families; Rosemary Letonoff of Port Richey, Fla., and her sons Victor Letonoff, Lars Letonoff and Dr. Eric Letonoff; Marion Thomas of Rehoboth and her children Dr. Marvin L. Thomas III, Michael Scott Thomas, and Lisa Thomas; Mary Elizabeth Slattery and Carol Niebler of Rehoboth, as well as many dear friends.

Funeral Services will be held Thursday, June 7, at 10 a.m., at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Second Street, Lewes. Committal will follow at St. Peter's Cemetery, Pilottown Road, Lewes. Friends may call between 6 and 8 p.m., Wednesday June 6, at Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, 16961 Kings Highway; Lewes.

Please omit flowers. Memorial contributions in Jane's name may be made to the Rehoboth Beach Writers' Guild, PO Box 1326, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971, and The Rehoboth Beach Film Society, 107 Truitt Ave., Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971.

Please visit Jane's Life Memorial Webpage and sign her online guestbook at www.parsellfuneralhomes.com.

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