Jane Elizabeth Enty

JANE ENTY-affectionately known to her family as Ibbitts-quietly slipped away from this life on July 7th, 2006 at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, following two massive heart attacks. Surrounded by family and close friends, she made a very peaceful transition.Jane, daughter of William Finley and Lillian Storgle Enty, was born in Templeton, Pennsylvania, home to the Enty clan. Her brother William Finley Enty, Jr., died at a young age, as the result of an accident. After her parents divorce, Jane and her mother took up residence in Washington, DC, with maternal relatives at the Howard family home.Ibbitts developed many close friendships in Washington and blossomed under the tutelage of her cousin Bertha Howard Collins. Ibbitts and her cousin Carolyn Howard (French) formed a lifelong close, sisterly relationship.Following a brief illness, Ibbitts returned to Pennsylvania to complete high school and formed a lifelong close friendship with her cousin Frank Enty. She returned to Washington to matriculate at Howard University from which she earned a Bachelor of Science in 1948 and a Master of Science in 1950.Jane found her vocation in textiles and the arts and her avocation in world travel. From 1950 through 1967 her summers were spent studying textiles, costumes and clothing at American University, the University of Pittsburgh, the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Comell University and the Pennsylvania State University. She especially enjoyed spending the summer of 1967 touring Asia, where she found a special interest in its art, its textiles and the messages they conveyed. Ultimately Jane enrolled at the Pennsylvania State University where she earned her PhD in 1979. She pursued post-doctoral research at Michigan State University and American University.Jane was an extraordinary teacher who mentored and inspired many students throughout her career. She began in 1952 as an Instructor at Savannah State College. During this period she was briefly married to Kenneth Hammond. Morgan State University recruited her in 1955 and she remained there throughout her career, serving first as an instructor and later as an Assistant then Associate Professor-and at one point Acting Chairperson of the Department of Family and Consumer Science.Jane’s professional memberships included the American Home Economics Association, the Maryland Home Economics Association, the Maryland Association for Higher Education, the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists, the Association of College Professors of Textiles and Clothing, and Kappa Omicron Phi. She served Morgan State University through its University Women’s Organization and the Presidential Scholarship Ball Committee. In 1986 she received the Governor’s Citation in recognition of her career at Morgan State University and her outstanding service to the citizens of the State of Maryland.A devoted long time member of the Saint James Episcopal Church, Jane served on its Altar Guild. She was devoted to Delta Sigma Theta, thereby carrying on a Howard family tradition.Jane is survived by many cousins in the Enty and French families, as well as a host of devoted friends including Dr. Roselyn Hammond, Mrs. Iola Smith, Mrs. Blanche Beckham, Dr. Jessie Colson, Ms Glenna Norton, and Mrs. Essie Banks, Mrs. Bertha Goodman, Mrs. Bernice McDaniel and Dr. and Mrs. Carl Franklin. When Ibbits departed this life a very bright light was extinguished in the lives of her family and friends; she will be sorely missed.

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Jane Elizabeth Enty

October 7, 1926 - July 7, 2006