Jane Lankford McGahee Mar. 13, 1920 - Jan. 26, 2015 Jane McGahee died quietly in her sleep on January 26, 2015. She was born in Carney Point, New Jersey on March 13, 1920. Her parents were John Mark Lankford and Mina McElroy Lankford. She grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and attended Girls High School. Jane attended Georgia State College for Women and graduated from Birmingham-Southern College in 1958. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She received a Masters of Arts degree in Reading Education from Jacksonville State University. In 1970, she received another Masters of Arts degree in Guidance and Counseling at Florida Atlantic University. Jane married Reverend Edge McGahee in 1939. As the wife of a Methodist Minister she lived in several places in Alabama including Decatur, Moulton, Mulga, Cahaba Heights, Talladega and Hokes Bluff. In 1965, the family moved to south Florida near Ft. Lauderdale. There Jane worked as a teacher of reading and as a guidance counselor. After Jane retired, she and Edge moved to Keystone Heights in north Florida. In Keystone Heights, she was an active member of the Methodist Church, serving as a member and President of the United Methodist Women and singing in the church choir. She was a member of the Board of the Community Bank, working to provide food and clothing to those in need. In 2002, Jane and Edge relocated to Kirkwood by the River in Irondale, where Jane was president of the Residents Association. She was a member of Leeds First United Methodist Church and American Association of University Women. All her life, Jane was an avid reader. She kept a card file to document each of the hundreds of books that she read. Jane was preceded in death by her parents, her husband of 64 years, and her grandson, John Spann. She is survived by daughters Jeannine Spann of Birmingham, Margaret Beier (Bill) of Fort Pierce, FL, and Laura Weithaus (Norbert) of Ehrlangen, Germany; sons Marcus McGahee (Teri Lovelace) of Richmond, VA and Steve McGahee (Ivette) of Hammonton NJ; nine grandchildren Elizabeth Spann (Kent Boyd), Jane Brady (Shaun) Emily Gnam (Evan), Tyler McGahee, Christopher Beier, Katherine Beier, Stephanie Weithaus, Benjamin Weithaus, and Tara McGahee; and four great-grandchildren, Andrew and Patrick Boyd, and Eleanor and Oscar Gnam. A memorial service will be held in the chapel at Kirkwood by the River, 3605 Ratliff Road 35210, on Saturday, February 14, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. with Reverends Richard Hanna and Dee Dowdy officiating. The family would like to thank the staff of Kirkwood by the River for their care and concern. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Leeds First United Methodist Church, 1189 6th Street, Leeds, Alabama 35094, or Kirkwood by the River, 3605 Ratliff Road, Birmingham AL 35210. Funeral Home Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home 1591 Gadsden Highway Trussville, AL 35173 (205) 322-0543 Published in The Birmingham News from Feb. 7 to Feb. 8, 2015