Jane Masingale

Jane Denise Masingale , 75, received her golden wings on    February 24, 2024. She was born in Long Beach, California on December 23,1948. Her family later moved to Syracuse, N.Y. where she lived until her passing. 

Jane attended St. Lucy’s Academy from Kindergarten through 12^th grade, graduating in 1966. The love of learning ignited at the St. Lucy’s Academy led her to earn a bachelor’s degree from Empire State College and a master’s degree in early childhood education from Syracuse University.  Because of Jane’s love for children, she then eagerly began   a career as a teacher, first  in Day Care, then in Peace/HeadStart and ultimately as a teacher of the Syracuse City School District from which she retired in 2010. 

Like her grandmother, Jane was an avid lover of flowers and spent countless hours working in her garden.  She had a vast knowledge of plants and flowers and a great love of nature, regularly spending time observing God’s glorious and diverse landscapes.  Her love of gardening was not limited to cultivated flowers but also included the simple beauty of wildflowers, the grasses of the earth and even those plants that others might consider to be mere weeds. 

Jane was a gentle, soft-spoken soul. She shared her love for God with her fellow parishioners at St. Lucy’s Church where she was a steadfast worker in God’s vineyard.  She regularly welcomed all who attended hospitality gatherings each Sunday morning, greeting them with a warm and genuine smile. Many of the neighborhood hungry enjoyed her food donations to St. Lucy’s Bread of Life meals.  A great storyteller, Jane, had our full attention at family gatherings.  Her impressions were stellar and Jane, because she possessed an astounding memory and an amazing recall of detail, would captivate us, and hold us in rapt attention. 

Jane was predeceased in death by her father-in-law and mother-in-law Robert and Josephine Masingale, her sister-in-law Marilyn Masingale, and brother-in-law Robert Masingale Jr., her brothers Leslie, Joseph, and Martin, and her beloved grandmother, Gwendolyn C. Lynch, whom she visited weekly to enjoy a cup of tea.

Jane leaves to mourn her passing her husband of 36 years, Dr. Michael Masingale, her son Langston (Dionne) Masingale, her daughter, Naomi Masingale, granddaughters Nailah and Aaliyah Masingale, all of Syracuse, NY. Sister-in-law Pamela (Kenneth) Lewis of Oakridge, TN and Sharon (Robert) Bell of Kent, OH. Her mother Dolores A. Brule of Syracuse, NY , her siblings Michael (Varnessa) Morgan of Johnson City, TN, Dawn Jones of Cedar Hill, TX, William Morgan of Chicago, Il, Maryann (Larry) Cochran of Augusta, GA, Carol Walker of Syracuse, NY, Catherine (Romaine) Eugene of Everett, MA., and Jeanne (Jack) Stokes of Phoenix, AZ as well as many uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends, far too numerous to list.   Special mention must also be made of her close and beloved friends Ingrid Dwyer and Donna Davis.  

Calling hours will be held on Saturday March 9, 2024, at St. Lucy’s Church, 432 Gifford St. Syracuse, N.Y. from 9:00 a.m. to  11:00 a.m.  followed by a Memorial Mass.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to: Alzheimer’s Association, CNY Chapter Campuswood Dr. Suite 102 E. Syracuse NY 13057 or St. Lucy’s Church 432 Gifford Street Syracuse, NY