A Sharp, Observant Eye In Memory of Jane Oliver Menard by Helen Chappell
I’m never going to find out how that novel ended. The wonderful, witty woman who would send me each chapter as she dashed it off has left us for the great keyboard in some fantastic writer’s study on the other side. I like to think Jane is up there having a drink with Jane Austen and James M. Cain as they cynically discuss the mortals who remain on this planet. Any loss is a great one, but losing a friend, a sister writer and a mentor is a gray tragedy. When Jane Oliver Menard slipped quietly away, stolen by cancer, she left a hole in many people’s lives. Her son, Covey Menard, her grandchildren, her surviving brother, Jeff, and sisters, Lucy and Scotti. Part of her legacy is being a part of that legendary family. But her life stands as a time well and truly lived. Covey and Barbara Oliver seemed to be so exciting to me. Dr. Oliver served as the ambassador to Colombia, as an undersecretary of state, as dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Law. He was an authority on international law.
Barbara was just as glamorous and exciting. She’d lived everywhere and done everything and, without being supercilious, was one of the most sophisticated people I’ve ever met. Just to have dinner with Covey and Barbara and their kids, who were my great friends, was exciting to me. The food was exotic, the stories spellbinding and their Mitford matter-of-fact approach just fine with me. 9
