Jane Katherine Frizzell (Monarch), aged 80, passed away peacefully in her home overlooking Taylor Pond in Auburn, Maine on May 23, 2026 after a short illness. A loving mother and grandmother, she was known for her love of learning, her passion for reading, and her desire to help all the people and animals she encountered. Jane was born in Dayton, Ohio and moved to Boston Massachusetts as a child, where she spent her childhood and young adulthood. She excelled in school at an early age and was placed into the prestigious Girls Latin School for High School, where she later graduated with honors. After high school, she attended Northeastern University and graduated with honors. At Northeastern, she also served as the editor of the college newspaper. She graduated with a degree in journalism but took a different path and began a career in IT.
Jane took a break from the work force after having her two children, Beverly and Gregory. During this time, she volunteered as an aide for the Auburn School Department, working with students both in classrooms and in their homes. She also was a longtime volunteer and Board Member at the Auburn Library.
She returned to work in 1978 at Bates College in Information Services. She worked at Bates for 33 years, until 2011, when she retired. Among the roles she held during this time, she founded the college’s computing help desk and served as a Network Administrator. Jane helped many a student having technical trouble with theses and, even, some professors with their doctoral dissertations, making her a popular figure around the Bates campus. Some of her favorite stories included recounting how she taught people to use the internet as it was first becoming publicly available.
Jane was known for her love of books, especially mystery and science fiction books, and reading. She loved to talk to people about what she was reading and recommend books to them. She passed her love of reading down to her children and grandchildren. She was also known for her love of animals, especially the family dog, Lucky. She had many, many cats throughout her life, most of them who showed up at her door step looking for love and a home and found it with her.
Jane was the daughter of Robert Monarch and Lavella Monarch of Hyde Park, MA, who both pre-deceased her. She is survived by her brother Robert Monarch of Salem, MA, daughter Beverly Frizzell-MacCallum and her husband Steve of New Gloucester, and was pre-deceased by her son, Gregory Frizzell or North Conway, NH. She is survived by her true pride and joy, her six grandchildren Bryce Murdick, Emma MacCallum, Baylee Frizzell, Jacob MacCallum, Maxwell MacCallum, and Bridgette Frizzell.
A Celebration of Life will be held at the First Congregational Church in New Gloucester on June 20th at 1pm in the afternoon.