 Jane Riese March 1, 1945 ~ August 16, 2004This is just the beginning of a tribute to a fantastic woman, loved and missed by many. |
"DAISY"
Sassy little daisy who nods to please the breeze that blows... I wonder if you ever wonder what it is to be a rose?
J. Riese March. 1966 |
 Janie with her design for the New York MemorialClick here for the link to her entry at the official contest site: Jane's design |
Update 2012It never surprises me anymore when yet another Fluffy who was a part of Jane's life contacts me. Here is a new contact from Nick Roperti:
Memories of Jane
I was fairly active in the fringe theater in the early nineties. I had just graduated from college and took on a job as an itinerant substitute teacher so I could have as little responsibility as possible and plenty of time to write, produce, and direct theater, which was my passion.
Living in California now and working as a ESL instructor in a college, I am sadly confronted with the occasional passings of people that shared that theater combustion with me in that carefree era. With heavy grief, I have found that Jane Riese has been added to that somber list.
Glibly, many people claim to be masters of the fine art of conversation but few people I have known in my life have truly understood what it means. Jane was one of those, a natural craftsman of truly humanistic interaction, one of those rare people you meet in life whom one loves and just wants to deliver a big bear hug to immediately. I remember sitting at the Woodland Park Inn so many times, wrapped in cozy blanket of warm conversation and cocktails, talking to Jane about my life, theatrical ideas, girlfriends, anything, and she listened to my every word with just this remarkably genuine interest and undistracted eyes. We would never run out of things to talk about. Her table at the Woodland Park Inn was a warm and homelike hearth, a guaranteed refuge from the stress and distractions of the outside.
I was the technical director of her play Civilities when it played the Fringe in the early nineties and she also assisted my work as well. Jane was the textbook definition of dignified and poised and she had a wonderful way of spreading contagious harmony whenever there happened to be a big group gathered. As everyone knows about her , her disability was never an obstacle to her having an active and involved life. In fact, I wouldn’t hesitate to say that I found her active life more robust than many of my contemporaries at that time who were in their twenties.
Jane, you were truly one of my life “fluffys” , and when I get up there to join you, I believe it’s my turn to buy the next sandwich and cocktail.
Miss you,
Nick Roperti
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An old friend of Jane's has found us!J.R. was looking for Jane by doing a search on her name and he found this site. How difficult to find out about her passing this way. Click here to read the beautiful poem he wrote and here to read the moving e-mails he sent me. |
Check back often as this site will be growing and changing on a regular basis. Please send any input or questions to the webmaster: sharimj@sharimj.com |
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