Jane Hoose Bentsen

February 15, 2020

GENEVA – Jane Hoose Bentsen, 87, long-time friend of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and well-known contributor to the civic, educational, and cultural life of Geneva, died peacefully on Saturday, February 15th. A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, March 5th at 1:00 PM at St. John’s Chapel on the campus of Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Parking is limited around the chapel. The Medbery Lot off of Pulteney Street and the JPR lot off of St. Clair Street are the two larger lots nearest the Chapel. A private burial will be held at Glenwood Cemetery. The family requests that memorial contributions be directed to the Molly Lydenberg Scholarship Award: c/o Kim Reisch, Treasurer, Molly Lydenberg Scholarship Award, 7 White Springs Lane, Geneva, NY 14456. The Molly Lydenberg Scholarship Award is presented in May or June to an African-American or Hispanic/Latino senior graduating from Geneva High School. Jane was on the Award Committee for many years. Born Jane Alison Hoose on August 03, 1932 in Sharon, CT, Jane grew up in neighboring Amenia, NY, where she learned civic responsibility and compassion from her father, Fred, who chaired the local school board and, as bank president, worked creatively to help this small farming community recover from the Great Depression. She shared a love of nature, birdwatching, and gardening with her mother, Fanny. Jane was an avid reader and an exceptional student. She graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, with honors in English literature from William Smith College in 1954. She received a Master’s in Education degree from The University of Rochester in 1958. Those formative years at William Smith College held a special place in Jane’s heart. She once wrote, “The Colleges were an exciting place to be in the fifties. The Western Civilization program was then in its zenith, led by Brooke Otis and Paul Alexander. I would not have read Plato, Aristotle, St Augustine, Aquinas, Gregory of Nyssa, Homer, Tacitus, Chaucer, Pope, and Marx were it not for those wonderful courses. My outlook on life was permanently changed because of that opportunity.” Jane married Irving O. Bentsen (Hobart College class of ’54) on August 13, 1955. Irving was an outstanding student who was pursuing a Master’s in Mathematics degree at The University of Rochester. However, Irving was blind, and, in those days, the prospect for professional employment was very much an open question. In 1956, Hobart and William Smith Colleges did something quite extraordinary for Jane and Irving. They offered Irving a temporary two-year position as Instructor of Mathematics so that Jane and Irving could work together to develop research and teaching techniques that might enable Irving to pursue an academic career. Professors Walter Durfee, Robert Beinert, and Abigail Mosey were instrumental in making this opportunity available. The two-year experiment was successful, providing needed directional guidance for the young couple. Irving said of the experience, “Jane applied her talents, skills, work, and patience, to make this teaching enterprise fly, and for that I am eternally grateful.” Irving was told that he would need a Ph.D. in order to get a tenure track faculty position. In 1958, Irving enrolled in the doctoral program at Rutgers University. Jane worked hand-in-glove with Irving, recording research papers and graduate level texts such as “Topological Groups,” and translating the Cartan Seminars on Algebraic Topology from French to English; then taking dictation for his thesis research in Abstract Algebra. “I remember playing on the floor with blocks while Mom and Dad played call and response in the language of mathematics,” recalls Jane’s eldest son Jim. “‘Kernel’ and ‘Lemma’ were my two favorite words because I thought they might refer to something I could play with. Now, as I look back on Mom’s old handwritten notes, with such complex mathematical notation, I marvel at how radical a shift this was for Mom, and how much courage it took.” Irving completed his Ph.D. and accepted a faculty position at the University of Vermont in 1964. But Jane and Irving had deep roots in Geneva, so when The Colleges offered a tenure track faculty position in 1966, they gladly accepted. Jane was excited to return to Geneva, and to put down roots. She was welcomed into The Tuesday Piano Quartette (two pianos, eight hands), where she experienced many delightful times sharing a common interest with musical friends. She remained a member for forty-seven years. Jane derived a deep sense of purpose and accomplishment from the success of Irving’s academic career at The Colleges. She also valued being an integral part of the academic community at The Colleges, where she was both loved and admired in her own right. Jane was a long-time member of Trinity Church and the Finger Lakes Chorale and Community Chorus. She also served on the Geneva Concerts Board of Directors, the Geneva Free Library Steering Committee, the Molly Lydenberg Scholarship Committee, and the William Smith Alumni Association. Jane served for decades on the Geneva League of Women Voters, and on the Geneva Human Rights Commission. She had a reputation for enthusiasm, competence, humor, and grace. Civic life in Geneva was tumultuous in the sixties and early seventies, reflecting the concerns of a nation. Jane was paying close attention, engaging on policy issues affecting racial balance in Geneva’s public schools and advocating for fair housing for the poor and the mentally disabled. In 1986, the League honored Jane with the Agnes Slosson Lewis Award for her commitment to educational, civic, and cultural affairs. In 1998, the Geneva Area Branch of the NAACP also honored Jane with the Mary Ann Mallard’s Memorial Community Service Award. In 2002, Jane received the New York State Office of Mental Health Achievement Award, recognizing her many years of service as president of the Ontario, Seneca, and Yates County Chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), her advocacy for state operated community residences for the mentally ill, and her service to the Ontario County Community Services Board Mental Health Subcommittee and the Ontario County Alternatives to Incarceration Board. Jane is survived by her husband, Irving O. Bentsen, her children James (Laurie) Bentsen of North St Paul, MN and Eric Bentsen of Geneva, NY, three grandchildren, her sister Charlotte Murphy of Amenia, NY and several nephews and nieces. She is predeceased by her parents, Fred P. and Fanny C. Hoose and her sister Margaret Pulver.