Mary Jane Duncan Tarrab

Mary Jane Duncan Tarrab, 89, passed away on Wednesday, July 14, 2021 in Amarillo, Texas.

Jane was born August 13, 1931 in Turkey, Texas.  She was the sixth of nine children born to James Ezra Duncan and Edna Etheridge Duncan.  Jane grew up in Turkey, Texas; Des Moines and Clayton, New Mexico; and Canyon, Texas.  She graduated from West Texas High School in Canyon in 1949.

Jane traveled extensively, moved frequently, and held many interesting jobs.  In 1951, after passing the civil service exam, she worked for the Army Liaison Office in Oklahoma City and for the Personnel Officer at the Air Force Base in Ardmore, Oklahoma.  In 1954 she moved to Bermuda where her brother, John, was stationed at Kindley Air Force Base.  In 1955 she moved to Farmington, New Mexico, for a brief time and then returned to Canyon to work in the FAA office at Tradewind Airport in Amarillo.  The FAA office moved to Lubbock in 1957 where she worked while studying for a court reporting job.  In 1959, she was hired by the Texas Water Department in Austin, Texas.

In 1960, while working in Austin, Jane met and married Edwin Stanton Stone who served as Executive Assistant Attorney General for the State of Texas.  They lived in Freeport, Galveston and Beaumont, Texas where Stanton had a law practice.  Jane worked for the Bureau of Fisheries and began her extensive college education, earning a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education at Lamar University.  They separated and divorced in 1971, and after a brief working vacation as a court reporter in Denver, Colorado, Jane returned to Canyon.

Jane earned her Master of Arts at West Texas State University in 1978.  She then moved with her mother to Houston where she earned her Master of Social Work at the University of Houston in 1980.  After graduation, she returned with her mother to Canyon where she worked for the Texas Commission for the Blind, and High Plains Children’s Home.  When Stanton became ill, Jane returned to Houston to be with him until his death.  While there she began her doctoral studies, traveling to England to complete these courses at Sussex College of Technology in Sussex, England.  Upon completion, Jane returned to Canyon and bought a home in Amarillo.

While working in the Student Finance Office of West Texas State University in Canyon, Jane met Dr. Miguel Tarrab, a math professor who had worked for Fidel Castro before defecting from Cuba.  They married in 1988 and lived in Palo Alto, California; Canyon; Treasure Island, Florida; and Plano, Texas.  When Miguel died in 2000 Jane returned to Amarillo.

Jane enjoyed painting and writing and authored 2 books:  Clan, and Shakespeare Tales for Children.  Although Jane had no children, she enjoyed a large family of brothers and sisters, their spouses and many nieces and nephews.  She was a member of San Jacinto Church of Christ in Amarillo.

She was preceded in death by her parents, 4 brothers:  Kenneth Duncan of Canyon, Hugh Duncan, James Duncan and John Duncan, and 2 sisters, June Duncan McEntire and Carol Duncan Monroe, all of Amarillo.

She is survived by her sister, Sharon Duncan Ratliff of Canyon, and her brother, Don Duncan and wife Diane of Longview, Texas, sisters-in-law Lynn Duncan and Jan Duncan of Amarillo, and many nieces and nephews.

The family suggest memorials be made to High Plains Children’s Home of Amarillo.