Jane Alice Tekel Johns

Jane Alice Tekel Johns passed into the arms of our Lord on March 12, 2020 age 89, at her home of 56 years in Carson City, Nevada. Jane was born in Newark, New Jersey on September 21, 1930, to Joseph Emil Tekel and Anna Kompis Tekel. She grew up in Hillside, New Jersey, where the family regularly attended the Slovak Lutheran Church. After graduating from high school she attended Vassar College for 3 years on a mathematics scholarship. She married Stephen Johns on November 29, 1952, and then moved with him to his native Nevada, where they resided in Tonopah and Sparks before moving to Carson City in 1963.

Jane was remarkable at baking traditional Slovak cookies and pastries, and heirloom Cornish recipes learned from her mother-in-law, Jesse Johns, and Tonopah landlady Mrs. Kelly. An expert seamstress, avid knitter and cross-stitcher, Jane often crafted special garments for friends and family. She became an avid and outstanding photographer "in self-defence" alongside husband Steve, who had a lifelong love of nature and portrait photography. Jane was recognized as a Fellow of the Photographic Society of America for her contributions to the field of competitive amateur photography and years of administrative and technical support. Jane and Steve built an in-house color photography lab in the 1960s, then became local pioneers in digital photography in the early 1990s, creating hundreds of prints that delighted those receiving them. She and Steve hosted numerous photography workshops, attracting Society members from other states and allowing them to explore and photograph Nevada's many wonderful ghost towns and unique vistas.

Jane was a charter member of Lord of Mercy Lutheran Church in Sparks and St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Carson City. She was dedicated in her faith and love of our Lord, Jesus Christ, serving in church choir, altar guild, and church councils over many years. She provided ample baked breads, cookies and other treats for church receptions and sales, and made lifelong friends within the church families. Jane was noted for her humor, intelligence, generosity and optimism, even to her final years of life.

Jane was preceded in death by her husband, Stephen (2013), daughter-in-law Margaret Erling Johns (2019, Paul), brother Joseph Tekel, and by her parents.

She is survived by her three sons, Joseph P. Johns (Diana), Paul S. Johns, and Ronald R. Johns, and by grandchildren Ashleigh Pickering (Michael), Megan Hall (Ben), and Brendan Johns, and a niece, Paula Grigsby. She is also survived by her great-grandchildren Owen and Kiri Hall, and Caydence, Maci and Hannah Pickering.

The family would like to thank Amada Senior Care, especially Susan Marion, and A Plus Hospice Care especially Wanda and Abigail.

Services at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Carson City will be scheduled at a later date.