JANE WEBSTER PEARCE

MOUNT DESERT ISLAND Jane Webster Pearce, of Green Island, Mt. Desert, died peacefully Aug. 29, 2005, at home. The daughter of Judge Arthur Webster and Laura Belle Russell Webster, Jane was born June 2, 1911, in Toledo, Ohio. She was raised in Detroit and attended Liggett School. In 1932, Jane graduated from Wells College in Aurora, N.Y. Her 1932 marriage to Robert G. Kales ended in divorce and she moved in 1946 with her four children to Princeton, N.J. In 1947, she married John Inman Pearce of New York City. John Pearce died in 1951 leaving Jane Pearce with eight children including three stepchildren from John Pearce’s first marriage; four children from Jane Pearce’s first marriage and one two-year old from their marriage to each other. In 1955, Jane Pearce and Katherine Thomas bought Green Island together and two years later, Jane Pearce bought Katherine Thomas’ share. The property had been vacant for some years and was in disrepair and Jane thought that she could harness some of her children’s youthful energy for some of the restoration work. And indeed, some of it was and continues to be done by family and family friends, but the Green Island family could not have survived so successfully for the past 50 years without the on-going support of the many stalwart and loyal local friends in the Mount Desert area. In the 60’s, her son, John Pearce Jr., an architect, designed a house for Jane Pearce on the Mount Desert side of the Green Island property. The parameters were firm: it must have a good view of the Island house and docks, be close to the shore but not too close and be reasonably priced. The result was the house that Jane Pearce called her Tree House, perched on steel pins atop a gigantic rock surrounded by trees. She loved the Tree House and spent many summers there enjoying her view and entertaining family and friends in her redwood hot tub. Fourteen years later, John Jr., engineered the conversion of the mainland carriage house into a habitable dwelling so that more family members could be at Green Island at the same time. In 1990, Jane Pearce moved from Princeton to Brookhaven, a retirement comm-unity in Lexington, Mass., near Boston. But the lure of Maine was irresistible and in 1993 she renovated the Green Island caretaker’s house and moved to Maine year round, saying that the air was better up here and so were the people. Also a factor in the decision was that for five months of the year various children and their families would be staying on the Island and during this time she would have close contact with family members. During the seven remaining months she stayed mostly in Maine, but visited various family members elsewhere from time to time. Each year for more than 30 years she traveled to the San Francisco Bay area in California to spend Christmas and New Year’s with her four youngest children all of whom make their homes in California. In the last years when travel became difficult for her, family members came to visit her in Maine during the winter. In the 70’s with her children out of the nest, Jane Pearce became interested in bookbinding. She studied with Fredrika Child and when her teacher died, Jane bought her tools and equipment and set up her own bindery in her Princeton garage. She engaged the noted bookbinder, Girard Charriere as a teacher and worked there with several friends until she moved from Princeton. In addition to learning the art of binding books she began to collect books with fine art bindings. When she moved from Princeton, she gifted all her bindery equipment to her Alma Mater, Wells College. This gift was the beginning of the Wells College Fine Art Book Department. Wells is the only U.S. college to offer a college minor in Fine Art Books. The Jane Pearce bindery is named for her. In the spring of 1995, Wells held a symposium for fine art bookbinders from around the world. Jane Pearce was the honoree of the symposium and an exhibit of her growing collection of fine bindings was part of the symposium. She made an effort to meet the binders whose work she bought and as her eclectic collection grew the common thread was that she had met all the binders. Some of her books have been shown in libraries and traveling exhibitions and in 2002 the College of the Atlantic put on a show of her books in their new exhibition space. The collection will go to Bowdoin College. Jane Pearce is survived by her children, Jane Kales Ryan of Stockbridge, Mass., Robert G. Kales of Lawrenceville, N.J., Joan Pearce Anselm of Denver, Colo., John Pearce of Chapel Hill, N.C., William “Buck” Kales of San Francisco, Calif., Anne Kales Howson of San Francisco, Barbara Pearce Williams of Oakdale, Calif., and Arthur Webster Pearce of Hollister, Calif. She is also survived by 14 grandchildren, Nina and Laura Ryan, Jennifer Kales, Susan Kales Lawliss, Sarah Kales Lee, Emily Kales Young, Rob and Alex Anselm, Rusty Howson, Erica Howson Fortescue, James, Sarah, Elizabeth and Alexander Pearce; and by seven great-grandchildren. An Ecumenical memorial service for Jane Pearce will be held 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25, at The Somesville Union Meeting House, UCC, Mount Desert, with the Rev. Victor Stanley officiating. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the Southwest Harbor Public Library, PO Box 157, Southwest Harbor, ME 04679 or to the Jane Pearce Bindery at Wells College, Aurora, NY 13026. Arrangements by Jordan-Fernald Funeral Home, 1139 Main St., Mount Desert.