Jane E. Allan

Jane E. Allan (Langan), age 77, of Bainbridge Island, WA died on February 2, 2026, at Liberty Shores Senior Living in Poulsbo.

Jane was born in Boston, the daughter of the late Hon. James Langan and Eleanor (Crofwell) Langan and grew up in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. She graduated from Notre Dame Academy. Jane attended Manhattanville College, Harrison, NY. Jane then entered a period of experiential education and personal development with her studies at Cumbres in New Hampshire, then at Fordham University’s Bensalem College in Bronx, NY. The college was a faculty-student intentional commune organized around democratic ideals. Jane then joined Friends World College, an international college founded on Quaker principles.

Significantly, in New York City, Jane had resided and worked with the non-conformist Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker movement, a pacifist movement that combines direct aid for the poor and homeless with nonviolent direct action on their behalf. Members practiced civil disobedience, which led to numerous arrests. Jane shared living quarters with Dorothy Day in the Lower East Side homeless shelter. There, Jane participated in the organization’s social justice advocacy and outreach activities. This time with Dorothy Day colored the rest of Jane’s life and was her lodestar.

Jane earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. After moving to Washington, D.C., she initially worked at the Mark Twain School in Rockwell, Md, mentoring and tutoring disadvantaged youth.

In 1973, Jane married William (“Bill”) Allan, who became her life partner and consummate helpmate for 52 years. In the beginning, they resided in Takoma Park, Maryland and later in Chevy Chase, MD.

After earning her J.D. degree from George Mason University Law School, Jane was admitted to the District of Columbia bar and the Maryland bar. She worked on Capitol Hill as a staff member of the Rules Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. Subsequently, Jane became staff legal counsel for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Commission, honing expertise in zoning and land use regulation. She later joined the law firm of Venerable, Baetjer & Howard, in Washington, D.C.

Jane and Bill established their residence on Bainbridge Island in Washington State in 1990. Jane worked for many years for the City of Bainbridge Island as a land use planner and regulator. At that time, she also led the development of the Comprehensive Plan that steered the island’s land use practices.

After leaving the Planning and Community Development office, Jane continued her involvement with land use issues, serving on the Affordable Housing Task Force which resulted in increased multifamily and low-income housing. For decades, Jane worked to improve access to walking and biking corridors for the island’s residents.

For the last chapter of her professional life, Jane was employed at the Bainbridge Island Senior & Community Center. She was the center’s executive director until her retirement in 2012. Jane developed innovative activities and programs, launched many clubs, marshaled available resources for the Center, and helped spearhead the renovation of the facility. Jane made a profound and positive difference in the lives of the island’s seniors. Of all her professional work, this was Jane’s greatest joy.

Jane was optimistic and congenial. She tirelessly strived to find a satisfactory conclusion to most every challenge or issue. While she could sometimes be strong-willed and tending to obstinacy on an issue or belief, she was also solution-oriented. Jane possessed an innate ability to pull together many threads to achieve results. She was trained as a mediator which supported her peacemaking inclinations.

Throughout her life, Jane eschewed materialism and needless social conventions, and, at times, delved into Eastern spiritual practices. In her later years, she rejected any inhibition to laugh or act playfully. Her lighthearted ways were infectious. As an avid hiker, Jane had a love of nature and the outdoors. She enjoyed many summers on Cape Cod. Jane and Bill sailed throughout the Salish Sea including Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands, the Canadian Gulf Islands, and Desolation Sound.

After retirement, Jane initiated a program for Mary’s House in Seattle, a center which serves homeless families. Every year, Jane organized family trips via the ferry to Bainbridge Island. The day included many art activities at the island’s art museum, nature walks, berry picking, and restaurant meals. This was a precious time during which each family journeyed to the island and chose activities. It was their family’s own outing.

Jane Allan certainly marched to the beat of her own drum!

Jane is survived by her husband Bill, brother James Langan, Jr., sister Nora Langan and brother-in-law Christian Langan-Roehr, and her dear, decades-long friend Marsha Youngblood. She was predeceased by her sister Carole Langan.

Contact Nora Langan at 206.852.4163 for additional information or inquires.