Jayne F. Mulvaney Obituary
Jayne F. Mulvaney of Cambridge, MA, and formerly of Columbia, SC, died Monday, December 10, 2024, at Seacoast Nursing Home in Gloucester, MA.
She was born August 16, 1938, in Goderich, Ontario, Canada, the daughter of the late Henry and Mary (McBrien) Ford. She was predeceased by her husband of 57 years, Robert (Bob) J. Mulvaney.
Jayne was a devoted wife and mother, with lifelong creative talents and interests. She was a gifted actress and had a great love of poetry. She received her bachelor's degree in English from the University of Toronto in 1959. Following graduation, she met Bob, who was pursuing his master's degree in philosophy. Together, they embarked on a journey that took Jayne far from her small-town roots in western Ontario, first to Atlanta, GA, then to New York City, Ann Arbor, MI and Washington, D.C., before finally settling in Columbia, SC. She received her master's degree in theatre at the University of Michigan in 1969 and then worked for many years as a theatre professor at the University of South Carolina, where she taught acting, and voice and diction. Despite the distance she would travel, she remained connected to her Canadian heritage, returning to Goderich often with Bob and her family.
Throughout her life, Jayne performed as an actress and played an integral role in many community theatre and university productions in Columbia. She also coached many TV news anchors and other sports and television personalities in voice and diction. Jayne was devoted to her craft and integrated multiple theatrical, movement and breathing techniques into her practice. She trained at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and was a student of the Linklater Technique and the Alexander Technique. Many knew her as a devoted and inspired teacher, who met her students where they were to help them grow as actors and as creative individuals.
Jayne was a deeply spiritual person and a dedicated Christian. She took a broad approach to her spiritual practices and practiced yoga, meditation and contemplative prayer. The spirituality of Thomas Merton was a special inspiration to her. She loved music and culture and spent many happy years traveling first with her family and later with Bob in retirement, enjoying theatre, music and art museums across the United States and Canada and around the world. After Bob's passing, she made new friends while living at the Cambridge Homes in Cambridge, MA, contributing her creative skills to their play-reading and poetry groups and enjoying the company of her children and grandchildren.
She is survived by her daughter Norah Mulvaney-Day (Paul) of Watertown, MA; two sons, Evan Mulvaney (Charlene) of Gloucester, MA, and Kieran Mulvaney (Kate) of Brooklyn, NY and Greenwood Lake, NY; three granddaughters, Emma (Gil) and Molly Day of Baltimore, MD, and Annie Mulvaney of Brooklyn, NY; and nephew Devan Mulvaney (Becks) of Los Angeles, CA.
Services will held be in the summer of 2025, in her hometown of Goderich, Ontario, Canada.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in her name to the Lourie Center c/o Senior Resources, 2817 Millwood Ave., Columbia, SC 29205 or by phone at (803) 252-7734.
