Born in Halifax, she was a daughter of Dr. James K.B. Purves and the late Mary (Tobin) Purves.
She was educated at public schools and the former Halifax Ladies’ College, now Armbrae Academy, receiving her BA from Dalhousie University in 1973. She said she received her “other” education in the social turmoil of the sixties and seventies, which she said she mostly remembered. Jane felt her love of reading helped immensely in developing a respectable editing career.
Jane spent 25 years in the newspaper business in Halifax, primarily at The Chronicle-Herald, where she began as a reporter in 1974 and served as managing editor for most of the 1990s. During that time, she was a member and president of the Canadian Managing Editors Conference and a board member of both The Canadian Press and The National Newspaper Awards.
She was elected MLA for Halifax Citadel in 1999 and served as education minister and then health minister in the majority government of Dr. John Hamm. She was also minister responsible for the Status of Women.
Jane held several smaller portfolios, including minister responsible for the Nova Scotia Boxing Authority. This, she said, was of no help in surviving the cut and thrust of the legislature.
In 2003 she was named editor of the former Halifax Daily News, thus becoming the first person to edit both Halifax dailies. She soon returned to politics to serve as chief of staff in Dr. Hamm’s minority government until his retirement in February 2006.
In the fall of 2006 she was the Irving Chair in Journalism at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, N.B.
Until recently, she was a radio and television news analyst for CBC News Nova Scotia.
In 2009 she received an honorary diploma from the Nova Scotia Community College for her role in helping to redevelop and fund a major expansion of the college. This was one of the achievements she was most proud of as she felt there was a great need for the youth of Nova Scotia to have the opportunity for training in the trades.
In 2013 she was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her work in journalism and politics.
Jane was very intelligent and very funny. Her brother once said that Jane won every prize given out at the Halifax Ladies College, except one, second place. She loved a good political discussion and had the ability to see both sides of an issue. She was a great listener but was not afraid to express her opinion even when she knew it might not be the one the listener wanted to hear. Reading and doing puzzles were some of her greatest joys along with good white wine.
Jane once said about her life: “My only regret is that I did it my way.”
She adored her granddaughters and they gave her many hours of pleasure. She was a wonderful mother, grandmother, sister and daughter and her friends were many and varied.
Besides her father, Jane is survived by her son Thomas MacEachern (Kristen Tynes) and her granddaughters Morgan and Rory; her former husband Roderick MacEachern (Carol lee Niblett), all of Dartmouth; two sisters, Caroline (John Walker-Haworth), London, England, and Jillian (Rick Haupt), Halifax; her brother Thomas (Linda Keddy), Halifax; two nieces, Grace Haupt, Toronto and Ellen Purves, Halifax; four nephews, Leigh Walker-Haworth (Sophie Lovett), and their son Arthur, Devon, England; Jamie Walker-Haworth (Nataliya Dronova) and their children Ilya and Anna, London, England; James Purves, Halifax; and Sebastian Haupt, Paris, France; her aunt, Josephine Prentice, Renfrew, Ont.; and many cousins.
A memorial service will be held at the Cathedral Church of All Saints, Halifax, on Friday June 7 at 10 am. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Armbrae Academy or the Canadian Cancer Society. The family wishes to give special thanks to the compassionate doctors and nurses of Cancer Care Nova Scotia and the Victoria Order of Nurses.
To view or place an online message of condolence please visit www.mattatallfuneralhome.com
To make an online donation please use the web addresses below:
Armbrae Academy
https://www.armbrae.ns.ca/podium/default.aspx?t=161397&rc=1
Canadian Cancer Society
http://convio.cancer.ca/site/PageServer?pagename=donations_can_home&gclid=CLWIsuyuyrcCFQJqMgodS2EAHA
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