Jane Gilbert

Jane Gilbert passed away peacefully on August 22, 2024. Born in Louisville, Kentucky to Margaret Sauer Wanless and George Smith Wanless on March 25, 1947, Jane’s early years were spent in Louisville before the Wanless family moved to Tarpon Springs, Florida in 1957. She graduated from Tarpon Springs High School, where she was a devoted Girl Scout and cheerleader. She loved swimming and lifeguarding, and was already a budding artist. Jane received a Bachelor of the Arts in English from the University of Florida, where she was a proud Alpha Delta Pi sister. She then received concurrent Masters degrees, in Christian Education at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and in Social Work at the University of Louisville. After completing her studies, Jane moved to Durham, North Carolina to be close to her older sister Margaret Scearce and was employed as a Psychiatric Social Worker at the John Umstead State Hospital in Butner, North Carolina. She married Paul Pressly Gilbert in Durham on May 14, 1977 at Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church, where the couple had met. Jane and Pressly moved to Nashville, Tennessee in June 1977 for Pressly’s residency in Orthopedic Surgery at Vanderbilt University. There, Jane took courses in watercolor painting both privately and at Vanderbilt, and she worked as an adoption counselor at the Nazarene Church’s Christian Counseling Service. Jane’s daughters were both born in Nashville; Sara Margaret Gilbert on December 31, 1980, and Julia Morris Gilbert on March 27, 1983. The family moved to Charlotte, NC in June 1984. Jane’s lifelong love of art developed into a career, and she painted professionally in watercolor and pastels until 2023. A prolific artist, Jane studied with Albert Handell, and held many shows, both at venues throughout the Charlotte area and in her beloved home studio. She enjoyed painting wherever she traveled, from Ashe County, NC and Pawleys Island, SC; to the areas surrounding Colgate University in Central New York (where her daughters both matriculated); to New Mexico, and to Kikuyu, Kenya. Her paintings fill the homes of her family and friends, and are a vivid reminder of her God-given talent and her relentless determination at capturing the beauty which God bestowed upon us. Jane is survived by her husband, Paul Pressly Gilbert; her daughters Sara Margaret Geissler (David) and Julia Murray (Colin); her grandchildren Paul William Geissler, Darcy Elizabeth Geissler, Anthony Morris Murray, and Vivian Pressly Murray; and many nieces and nephews. She is remembered for her graciousness as a hostess, her love of gardening, her championing of civil rights, the magic she sparked in her daughters’ childhoods, her love for Pressly, and her devotion to Christ. A Celebration of Jane’s Life will be held at Sardis Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC at 2pm on Thursday August 29th. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that loved ones consider making contributions to the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts + Culture ( www.ganttcenter.org ).