Jane E. Manley, of Melrose, died at the age of 80 on September 3, 2023. Born in New Bedford, MA, she was the daughter of Gladys C. (Cochrane) Manley of New Jersey and John C. Manley of Kansas She was predeceased within months by her brother Stephen C. Manley of Ipswich, MA, and previously by a beloved aunt, Mary Fowler, and leaves one cousin, Mary O'Driscoll of Cork, Ireland.

Jane was an unapologetic, unwavering atheist who lived by only one principle, The Golden Rule. She was devoted to her only brother Stephen, loved all her friends/neighbors and made it her goal to leave the planet just a little bit better than she found it when she arrived in 1943.

While studying history at Boston University, she had the good fortune to take courses with Howard Zinn. His classes had a profound effect on her life. She always said he was the reason she became politically active, eventually leading to her work with the political action group "We The People."

Early in her career, Jane moved from teaching history and social studies at the middle-high school level in Mansfield, into the world of textbook publishing. One of the jewels in her crown was tackling a subject she never felt particularly competent in, the science of blood. Along with her friend John Dailey she helped write, edit and self-publish "Dailey's Notes on Blood" and "Blood." The books sold over 200,000 copies and won First Place for Excellence from the American Medical Writer's Association.

Politics and publishing were not her only passions. She studied drawing and painting at Montserrat College in Beverly, took up playing the recorder with an early music group in Cambridge, was an avid reader (but please no fiction) joining various book clubs in the Boston area, and finally, in her early days was known to enjoy contra/square dancing at the Scout Hall in Concord. One of her last regrets was not being able to use her seasons tickets to her beloved Boston Symphony Orchestra. There was nothing more comforting, yet invigorating, for Jane than when she entered Symphony Hall and was immersed in music.

She will be remembered.

Funeral arrangements were handled by The Murphy Funeral Home, Salem, MA