Jane Earls Denmark died peacefully in her sleep on May 24, 2023, in Lawrenceville, Georgia, cared for
by her family and the loving staff of Delmar Gardens of Gwinnett and Capstone Hospice after a battle of more than fifteen years with Parkinson’s Disease. She and her husband Alfred were long-time residents of Bay Minette, Alabama, but decided to leave their treasured home to be closer to their children and grandchildren in the Atlanta area. Alfred and Jane spent a few months shy of fifty years in devoted marriage.

Jane was born in 1946 in Dothan, Alabama, the second of three children of Gordon and Doris Earls. The
daughter of an Assemblies of God minister, she experienced a number of moves in her childhood before
graduating from Baldwin County High School. Jane earned a degree from Evangel College in Springfield,
Missouri and worked as a medical technologist, a field that incorporated her love of science.
Jane displayed an adventurous spirit throughout her life. For example, she met her future husband Alfred
Denmark after returning from several months living on an Apache Reservation in Arizona, where she assisted missionaries. When Alfred was offered a job in Germany in the ‘70s, he and Jane seized the opportunity with zeal, traveling throughout Europe.

Another thread in Jane’s life was her devotion to her family. The couple returned to the Alabama area to
be closer to them. When their first child, Sean, was born, she largely left work to raise him and their daughter Emilie. Al and Jane ensured their children were surrounded by a loving extended family. They attended Assemblies of God churches pastored by her older brother Norman for many years and built a house next to Jane’s parents in Pine Grove. Her younger brother Darwin and family later built a house on the same street, followed by Al’s father. Jane was a caregiver for her mother to the end, supported by the steadfast help of her brothers and her sisters-in-law Sandra and Ellen.

In 1988, Al was again offered a job in Germany. Over the course of a year and a half, they traveled
almost every other weekend in a VW camper with children in tow, from as far north as Scotland to as far south as Naples. When the Berlin Wall fell, the family drove across East Germany to chip away at it with a hammer and chisel, gathering pieces they distributed to Alabama residents for years.

While in Germany, Jane began to substitute in the Department of Defense schools. One middle-school
science class had already had two teachers quit that school year, and when she took over the class, she
overheard students betting she wouldn’t last a week. Jane finished the year, and when her family returned to Pine Grove, she earned a Master’s in Education from University of South Alabama (inspiring her husband to do the same). She served in a few schools before returning to Baldwin County High, where she taught science for years. Jane was at the high school most weekends preparing for a forensic science mystery, a Krebs cycle enactment, or a dissection. She earned accolades throughout her teaching career, including Alabama Science Teacher of the Year, and oversaw a thriving Science Olympiad team. Teaching was her passion.

In 2008, Jane was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, and she and Al retired soon thereafter. They
devoted themselves to education about the disease, support for those who have it, and fundraising for research on it. She loved to host, from large family gatherings at Easter to small teas for her friends and grandchildren.

She became a Master Gardener, and, despite the disease’s progress, the couple traveled to Europe again and to Alaska. They visited their son several times in New York City, and regularly drove to Atlanta to see their
adored grandchildren, for whom they also hosted “summer camp” week-long visits. She was a founding
member of the Bay Minette Public Library Book Club.

Jane was a member of First United Methodist of Bay Minette. Music was devotion for her, from
participating in local productions of Handel’s Messiah to playing hymns on the piano at home. Most of all, she was a woman of faith and service, striving to serve God and her community both from within the church and through civic organizations.

She is survived by her husband Alfred Denmark; her brothers Norman Earls and Darwin (Ellen) Earls;
two children, Sean Denmark and Emilie Denmark; two grandchildren, Elliott and Lily Darden; and many
adored nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A memorial service will be held in Bay Minette in the coming weeks. Should friends wish to honor her
life, the family gratefully suggests a donation in Jane’s memory to the Parkinson’s Foundation, to which she
herself was a generous donor, in the hope of improved treatments for all who suffer from this disease.

Georgia Cremation in Duluth is assisting the family with arrangements.