Mary Jane Oliver Hubbard

After a mercifully short battle with cancer, Mary Jane Oliver Hubbard gently passed away on the morning of April 4th, 2024. Mary Jane was born on May 13th, 1940, and was the middle child of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew J. Schroder II of Media, Pennsylvania. As a young girl, Mary Jane enjoyed helping in the family's multiple flower gardens, riding the steam locomotive into Philadelphia for shopping excursions or a show, and traveling to both the New York lake country and New Jersey shore for family vacations. Mary Jane was extremely athletic and fleet of foot. She was very proud that she had been able to consistently out-run every boy in her class until the 10th grade. She excelled at both field hockey and lacrosse, first as a student at Swarthmore High School and later at Sweet Briar College in Virginia. While at Sweet Briar, Mary Jane pursued her other passion: the arts. She studied voice with professor Noble Gilpin and studio art with professor Loren Oliver, the latter of whom she married the year after her graduation in 1963. During their many years together, Mary Jane and Loren worked side by side in their adjoining home studios in Amherst, Virginia, crafting works in acrylic, watercolor and pen and ink. They also traveled to Europe and throughout the United States, farmed and kept a herd of dairy goats (whom Mary Jane always named after wild flowers), and always made time for friends and gourmet food. Guests at Mary Jane's table always knew they were in for a treat, be it Mary Jane's homemade Yorkshire pudding, roasted duck, moussaka or violet sherbert. A number of years after Loren's passing, Mary Jane married the Reverend Dr. James Hubbard in 2000. With James, Mary Jane was introduced to touring the countryside on a recumbent bicycle, late fall trips to Holden Beach, North Carolina, and the simple pleasure (and intense competition) that may be found in a game of Scrabble. One of Mary Jane and James' favorite traditions was spending summers together at the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York. While there, Mary Jane and James sang as members of the Institute's Motet Choir, served as resident hosts for the UCC's resident housing and enjoyed attending multiple concerts, exhibits and symposiums by world-renowned performers, artists and intellectual speakers. In the years immediately following their marriage, Mary Jane and James spent time living in both Roanoke, Virginia and Kansas City, Missouri, as James' role as an interim rector for the Episcopal Church called him to these locations. They also traveled abroad to Canada, Spain, and to many U.S. states. Mary Jane and James returned to reside in Amherst, Virginia in 2004. While James continued his ministry in the surrounding area, Mary Jane returned to St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Lynchburg. She was the lead soprano in the church choir, served on the church Vestry and with the Daughters of the King, an Episcopal women's order that serves the church and its clergy in prayer. Mary Jane recently retired from her role as a teacher in St. Paul's chapter of The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a program designed to introduce children and youth to Christian scripture, liturgy and tradition. Mary Jane continued to work in her art studio and displayed works in local art shows and galleries as recently as this past year. Mary Jane was preceded in death by her parents and first husband and by both her younger sister, Elizabeth Anne Hoxie of Yellow Springs, Ohio and older brother, Andrew J. Schroder of Sanibel Island, Florida. She is survived by her husband, The Reverend Dr. James Hubbard of Amherst Virginia, James' children, Christopher Brooks of Durham, New Hampshire and Tamara Sparacino of Swannanoa, North Carolina, and by Mary Jane's son Jasper Oliver of Lynchburg, Virginia. Mary Jane will be interred in the Sweet Briar College columbarium on Monument Hill, and a memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, April 13th at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in downtown Lynchburg. Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Lynchburg is assisting the family.