Jane Hunt McLin died Tuesday, March 5, 2019, at Oak Hammock in Gainesville, Florida.  Born March 11, 1937, in Humboldt, Tennessee to Jane Johnson Hunt and Elmer Hunt, Jr., she attended public schools there through the eleventh grade.  Upon her mother’s remarriage, Jane moved with her to Oxford, Mississippi, where she received her high school diploma from Oxford University High School.

 

Jane entered Randolph Macon Women’s College in 1955 where she was initiated into Delta Delta Delta sorority.  In 1957 she transferred to the University of Mississippi, graduating in 1959.

 

She began her professional career in Atlanta with Houghton-Mifflin Publishing Company.  After relocating to Memphis and an extensive tour of Europe, she worked for the First National Bank of Memphis and Holiday Inns of America in the latter’s corporate headquarters.

 

In November 1963, Jane married James Cloud McLin, Jr., a professional musician who, having made his orchestral debut at age 12 playing the Grieg Piano Concerto with the Memphis Symphony, had a lifelong love affair with the piano.  Together Jane and Jim moved to Chicago and a larger world of music.

 

In Chicago Jane became Director of Alumni Affairs for Kendall College and Jim became Director of Product and Music Development for the Hammond Organ Company.  As the co-inventor of the Hammond Piper Autochord, Jim traveled the world as he demonstrated his invention in concert halls on five continents. Jane was always at his side.

 

Their life adventure in music took them next to Los Angeles and the formation of CMI and Associates, an agency serving a broad spectrum of the music industry.  

 

Upon the untimely death of Jim’s CMI partner, Jane and Jim joined their extended family now living in North Florida.  Jane served for 17 years as Assistant to the President of the Sarvis Company, a worldwide military brokerage company headquartered in Jacksonville.  In 1990, Jim resumed his musical studies at the School of Music of Florida State University in Tallahassee, receiving his doctorate in piano performance in December 1996.  Nine months later he died of stomach cancer.

 

Jane continued her career in Jacksonville until suddenly losing her central vision to macular degeneration and joining her mother at Oak Hammock at the University of Florida in Gainesville.  Here she founded and chaired the Aging Eye Focus Group and served on the Chapel Committee until her death.

 

She is survived by her sister, Walker, and brother-in-law Ray Sahag of Mandeville, Louisiana; her brother, Roy Hunt, also a resident of Oak Hammock in Gainesville; step-sisters Lynn Dowsley of Humboldt, Tennessee, and Carole Clark of Chattanooga, Tennessee; by stepdaughter Jekka Pinckney of Collierville, Tennessee; and brother-in-law, Jon Blythe McLin, of Geneva, Switzerland.

 

Jane was blessed with many wonderful caregivers as blindness made her increasingly dependent, but special mention and thanks are due to Linda Kasicki and Dana Scheil.  Warm thanks are due also to her longtime pastor and close friend, Don McGarity, and his wife Bonnie.

 

A Celebration of Life will be held at Oak Hammock.  Interment beside her husband and a graveside service will take place at Memorial Park in Memphis.

 

The family requests that any memorials be sent to the Oak Hammock Benevolent Fund at 5000 SW 25th Boulevard, Gainesville, FL., 32608.

 

Funeral arrangements are under the care of Williams-Thomas Funeral Home, 404 North Main Street, Gainesville.