Jane (Randolph) Sadler

Born Jane Katherine Randolph on January 7, 1915, in Haileybury, Ontario, Canada, she was the younger daughter of George Randolph, a mining engineer, and his wife Drina. Following the death of her father in 1918, Drina took her daughters to live in Minneapolis, where she worked and the girls grew up under the watchful eye of the Randolph family. After her graduation from the University of Minnesota with a degree in French, she and her mother moved to San Francisco. In November of 1941 Jane married Walter Henry (Hank) Bell, a radioman who flew for Pan American Airways, and in 1943 their son Randolph James was born. Sadly, Hank died in the Pacific shortly before the end of the war. Another marriage followed to Edmund Thelen, producing a daughter, Joan Arnold in 1947, but that marriage ended in divorce. In 1951, her dear sister Betty Cook passed away suddenly, leaving her husband with two children, Nancy, age 7, and Fred, 3, so Jane took Randy and Joan and moved to Vanadium, near Silver City, New Mexico, to take care of her niece and nephew. In due time, she and their father, Stearns Cook, married and provided all four children with a stable, two-parent home in which to grow up. In 1954 the family moved to the Anaconda Community, another mining camp near Bluewater, and in 1960, settled in Albuquerque. Jane by this time had acquired her elementary teaching credentials and got a job at Sandia Base School, where she taught for 20 years, mostly in grades 2 and 3. She was a dedicated teacher, always with an eye out for her students' problems, and helping parents deal with them. In 1966 she was inducted into Delta Kappa Gamma, a national honor society for women teachers. At Christmastime, 1978, Jane, who had been divorced for ten years, was introduced by one of her colleagues to widower Rudy Sadler. It was love at first sight, and they married in March, 1979. She retired from teaching the following June. Their life was full of entertaining their many friends, travel, golf, bridge, and enjoying their view of the mountains from their patio on the golf course in Paradise Hills, which she walked every day with their little dog, Puddin. In 2006, in their early 90's, Jane and Rudy sold their home and moved to the Montebello, where they quickly developed new friendships while maintaining many of their old ones. After 32 years of marriage Rudy died in 2011. Jane stayed on in independent living until 2015, when a bout of congestive heart failure convinced her she could no longer live alone. At the age of 100 she moved to an assisted living group home where she not only adjusted but thrived. Her health revived and she maintained an optimistic outlook which served her well as she ministered to fellow residents, all of whom were younger but less well than she was. Many thanks to her wonderful caregivers who helped to make that happen. She passed away on November 26, 2021, six weeks shy of her 107th birthday.
Jane was predeceased by her parents, husband Rudy Sadler, sister Betty Cook, son Randy Bell and stepdaughter Nancy Boyce (Bill). She is survived by her daughter Joan Hanson (Lee), stepson Fred Cook, and five granddaughters: Eileen Hanson of Albuquerque, Carolyn Foster (Jon) of Hurst TX, Erin Blankenship (Wayne) of Tse Bonito, NM, Ka, tie Cook (Jonathan Sandmel) and Kim Cook (Tasio Carlson) both of Santa Fe. She also had seven great grandchildren: Emily and DJ Foster, David and Mikayla Blankenship, Ariel and Jordan Sandmel and Logan Carlson.
Jane Sadler's life will be celebrated on January 22, 2022, at FRENCH-Wyoming at 3:00 pm. Jane was a member of Sandia Presbyterian Church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Deacon's Fund at sandiapres.org/giving, or mailed to the church at 10704 Paseo del Norte NE, Albuquerque, NM 87122-3112. Please visit our online guestbook for Jane at www.FrenchFunerals.com.