Jane Ann Jesson

Jane Ann Jesson, Devoted Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Woman of Faith and Compassion, went to be with the Lord on March 29th, 2026. Jane passed suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 90, held in the love of her family from near and far, after a journey-filled life lived with purpose, warmth, and an unshakeable devotion to the people she held dear.

Memorial services will be held at 11:00 AM, Saturday, April 4, 2026, at the First Methodist Church of Enterprise with Rev. Matt Jordan officiating. The family will receive friends from 10:00 AM until service time.

Jane was born Jane Ann Martin on December 23, 1935, in Marietta, Ohio, and grew up in Elkins, West Virginia. In 1957, she married the love of her life, Darreld “Jess” Jesson, at Fort Holabird in Baltimore, Maryland, where Jess was stationed and Jane was completing nursing school. She embraced the life of a military family — steady and strong through Jess’s combat service in Korea and multiple tours in Vietnam, raising their children J.R. and Leah with patience and grace while Jess served.

After the Army years, the family settled in Missoula, Montana, where Jane founded the Western Montana Cat Club in 1973 and spent twenty-two years breeding and showing championship silver and golden Persians. She was a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a knitter, a reader, and a devoted genealogist. Cats remained a lifelong love — she adorned herself with cat-themed jewelry and sweaters, and her home was never complete without a feline companion.

In 2000, Jane and Jess put down roots in Enterprise, Alabama, and it proved to be the most fitting place they had ever landed. Jane became a beloved member of Enterprise First United Methodist Church, singing with the Hallelujah Choir, serving in the church circle, and rising to lead the local John Coffee Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution as Regent from 2009 to 2011. She loved bunco and bridge — calm to Jess’s fire at the card table, and almost certainly the reason the evenings ended in laughter. She was also deeply proud of her own journey toward sobriety, speaking about it openly, and serving for many years as a trusted sponsor and mentor to others walking the same road.

Jane was not a woman who slowed down easily. A double hip replacement ten years ago made her a walking enthusiast, and she recovered fully from a serious broken leg in her later years. Those who saw her in her final weeks noted she was getting stronger — making her sudden passing all the more shocking to those who loved her. Just three months before she passed, the family gathered in Enterprise to celebrate her 90th birthday. It was a joyful celebration. No one knew it would be their last gathering with her.

Jane was preceded in death by her beloved husband Jess, who passed in August 2020; by their stillborn son Jess Joseph Jesson, on July 16, 1973; by her twin sister, Mary Edith Martin Schneider; and by her brother Joseph Martin III, who passed in 2024. Jane will be laid to rest beside her beloved Jess at the family plot in Missoula, Montana — returning together to the place they called home.

She is survived by her son J.R. Jesson and his wife Tara; her daughter Leah Wilson and her husband Gordon Wilson; her grandchildren Sienna and Collin Jesson, Paul Hiniker, Susan Little and her husband Joey, Noah Wilson, Mandy Hilger, and Larisa Wilson; eight great-grandchildren; her brother John Martin and his longtime partner Hope Rierson; and her niece Abbey Martin. She is also survived by the many lives she touched — quietly, consistently, and without need for recognition.

Jane Ann Jesson loved her family, her cats, her faith, her history, and the people in her care. She did not do any of it halfway.