Julia Jane (Keller) Paver passed away on June 21, 2023 in Canton, Georgia, at the age
of 99.
She was born on January 19, 1924 in Cincinnati, Ohio to Pearl S. Keller and Edith
Grady. She was the 6th of 7 children.
Jane grew up in Bethel, Ohio, where at the age of 10, her mother signed her up for
singing and dancing lessons. Noting that she had an exceptional talent for singing, her
instructor encouraged her to pursue a career in music. As a teen, she sang in many
venues, performing solo or with a trio. Along the way, she took advanced lessons from
a voice professional in Cincinnati.
At a high school basketball game, she met her future husband, John E. Paver, and they
married on July 31, 1943, the night before he was deployed to serve in WW2.
During the war, she put her singing career on hold and did a variety of jobs for the "war
effort". When the war was over and John came home, they moved to Detroit so that
John could go to pharmacy school and then medical school. They soon started a
family and had their first child in 1947.
They lived in Detroit until 1971, when they decided to move to Midland, Michigan. In
1977, her husband John sadly passed away. Not being satisfied sitting at home, Jane
decided to take some college classes. She also went to work in the accounting
department at Dow Chemical.
When all of her children were grown, she decided to make a move from Midland. She
spent years in Peoria AZ, Richland MI, and Atlanta, GA, all to be around family.
She was a woman of many talents. In addition to singing, over the years she became
an enthusiastic golfer. She painted several beautiful oil paintings, and created many
projects with embroidery and cross-stitch. She was also an avid computer user. Until
the very end she emailed daily, texted, and FaceTimed with family.
Jane was a strong, intelligent, compassionate, and loving person. She was healthy, and
even a little "feisty" until the very end. She will be very dearly missed by her family.
She is survived by her six children, (Paula Jenay Cook, Marian Joette Thornley, Jennifer
Griffin, Jana Dutton, John Paver Jr., and Jane Hodgson), 13 grandchildren, and 15
great-grandchildren.
At Jane's request, cremation has taken place and there will be no service at this time.

The caring staff of Darby Funeral Home is honored to serve the Paver family.