Jane Phillips

Long time Chillicothe educator Jane (Allyn) Phillips died on August 23, 2011, of natural causes. She was 95. Jane was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, on December 25, 1915, to Esther Scott and John Porter Phillips, Jr. Jane graduated from Chillicothe High School in 1932 and then attended Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for about two years. In 1934, she married William Henry Allyn. Because times were hard for the couple, Jane applied for a job with the Chillicothe Gazette and worked there for three years serving, among other assignments, as assistant society editor. William and Jane had three children, Cynthia, William Henry, Jr., and Kathleen. But Jane always regretted that she had not completed her undergraduate degree. She took night courses, eventually completing her undergraduate degree and teaching certificate. She was hired to teach English, speech and drama at Chillicothe High School. Although known for her rigorous standards in English and literature class, Jane's passion was for the theater and she directed most of the junior and senior class plays produced by CHS from the 1960s into the 1970s. With music director Lloyd Savage, Jane initiated the tradition of CHS's annual musical theater productions, co-directing such favorites as Oklahoma, The Sound of Music and Carousel, among others. Jane also started a children's theater program through which grade school classes were brought to CHS to see live performances of Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz and other classics put on by the high school drama department. These more elaborate productions were made possible in the modern theater facilities which Jane designed for the "new" Chillicothe High School on Yoctangee Boulevard. Jane later taught English at Ohio University Chillicothe and remedial reading and arithmetic at the Pickaway-Ross Joint Vocational School. In all Jane spent twenty-three years in education. During this time, she earned two master's degrees – one in English and one in speech and drama – from Ohio State University. Jane was predeceased by her parents and her son. She is survived by her daughters, as well as by numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The family requests that Jane be remembered through support of and contributions to the Chillicothe High School drama program. Private burial was held at the convenience of the family in Grandview Cemetery.
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