The New American was fortunate to have Jane Ingraham as a contributor for many years. She recently passed away at age 95 near her home in Vero Beach, Florida.
Jane (nee Hall) was a Connecticut native, graduating from Connecticut College in New London. She served as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. Women in that branch of the service were known as “Spars.” So it wasn’t terribly surprising when, years later, she chose “Spargal” as part of her Internet address. She served in the Coast Guard as a cryptographer and intelligence specialist.
After The John Birch Society began in late 1958, Jane’s husband Irving (who predeceased her by 27 years) attended one of early seminars delivered by Robert Welch. He happened to be in Milwaukee on a business trip and was invited to attend the event by business associates. When he returned home (then in Grosse Point, Michigan), he told Jane about the remarkable event he had attended. The two immediately started planning for Robert Welch to deliver his message in Michigan. Their plans bore fruit in early 1959, and the first Michigan chapter of The John Birch Society began meeting in their home with a sizable group of new members. Shortly before Jane’s husband died, the Ingraham family relocated to Vero Beach, Florida.
After her husband’s passing, Jane began to submit articles to The New American. I happened to be temporary managing editor at that time (1985) and the first manuscript we received from her contained a distinctly male pen name. After contacting her and finding out that the author of the article (it was a wonderful piece that we immediately published) was a woman, I asked her why she had used a pen name. She said she wondered if we were interested in publishing anything written by a woman. I assured her that we had always welcomed good articles from females and that some of the very best had come from patriotic and highly intelligent ladies.
Always keenly interested in economic matters, she provided many contributions of great value to readers. One that I recall dealt with the federal government forcing local banks to provide home-buying loans to many who truly couldn’t afford them. She actually predicted prior to 2008 that the artificial housing bubble would burst and wreak havoc in the U.S. economy. What she stated did indeed occur, and Jane’s ability as an extremely competent predictor of the future became even better known.
Her enthusiasm for my 2002 book, William F. Buckley, Jr., Pied Piper for the Establishment knew no bounds. Her review of it in The New American magazine encouraged many to obtain a copy and to become aware that the Establishment’s favorite conservative wasn’t a real conservative at all.
My travels through the nation took me to Florida, where Jane arranged to have a gathering at the home she established in 1969. She regularly shared copies of The New American and various publications produced by The John Birch Society with people looking for answers to the many questions Americans have been asking about the way our nation is being managed.
During her many visits to her son and his family living in Salem, Massachusetts, I had the opportunity to enjoy her company and discuss the treachery emanating from the nation’s capital. It was always my pleasure to assure her that America could indeed be saved.
In recent years, she became unable to travel, so I didn’t get to see her as much as in previous years. But I kept in touch with “Spargal” and always enjoyed her letters and e-mail messages. America lost a great daughter with the passing of Jane Ingraham. My prayer is that she has already been welcomed into eternity by the God of all us. She leaves her medical doctor son, Irving, and his family, two daughters, Julia and Laura, and four grandchildren.
