Obituary of Mary Jane Baucom

Mary Jane Baucom of Roscoe, IL, died March 31, 2016 after a brief illness. Mary Jane was born to Dora (Burull) and Archie Lorimer of Stoughton, WI on Dec. 14, 1915. She grew up in the Stoughton area. She attended Ripon College, then studied architecture and graduated from the University of Minnesota in1940. She received her Master’s Degree from the University of Wisconsin. During WWII, she worked for GE in Schenectady, NY, where she met and married Ivan C. Baucom, Jr. In 1945, their son Michael was born. After the war, Mary Jane and Ivan attended the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana where they both received degrees in architecture. Together, they practiced architecture in Jackson, MS, and then moved to McFarland, WI, where Stephen was born in 1951. They soon moved to Rockton, IL and Janet was born in 1953. In 1957, the family moved into the home that Mary Jane and Ivan designed in The Ledges area of Roscoe, IL. This remained Mary Jane’s home until her death. In the late 1960s, she started a new career as librarian at Keith Country Day School in Rockford, from which she retired in the 1980s. Throughout her life, Mary Jane actively participated in community life through her church, local boards, and involvement with the Natural Land Institute and various prairie restoration concerns. Those left to honor Mary Jane’s memory include her daughter Janet (Rich) Myers; son Stephen (Barb) Baucom with grandchildren Naomi Baucom, Stefani Baucom, Erica Epperson, Amanda Miller (Jesse), Jenna Miller (Malachi), Matt Miller, and great-granddaughters Sage, Rio, Cheyenne, Zayante, and Sophia; daughter-in-law Myrna Baucom with grandchildren, Brett (Erin) Baucom and Chelsea (John Young) Baucom-Young, and great-grandchildren Holden, Caden, and Maxwell Young; foreign exchange daughter, Liane Wand; dear cousins, Joan Olson and Robert Burull, as well as their children and many other cousins. Mary Jane was preceded in death by her brother Ray Lorimer, parents Archie and Dora Lorimer, husband, Ivan C. Baucom, and son, Michael. Mary Jane’s memorial service will be held on May 14, 2016 at 10:00 o’clock at Cross and Crown Lutheran Church, Roscoe, IL (visitation one hour before). In lieu of flowers, memorials in Mary Jane’s honor preferred to Cross and Crown Lutheran Church, 7404 Elevator Road, Roscoe, IL 61073 or to the Nygren Wetlands project of the Natural Land Inst., 320 S. Third St., Rockford, IL 61104 (http://www.naturalland.org/ ).