Jane Bohanan Heischman

Jane Bohanan Heischman, 85, passed away peacefully at home on September 29, 2026, surrounded by those she loved, following a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.

Jane was one of those rare people whose goodness seemed to come naturally. She was kind, gentle, thoughtful, caring, and deeply selfless, with a beautiful smile that radiated warmth and love. But beneath that gentleness was also a quiet strength. Raising four boys required patience, resilience, sacrifice, and no small amount of toughness, and Jane somehow managed it all without losing the kindness that defined her.

She never needed to be the center of her family to be its center. Jane spent her life putting others before herself, celebrating their accomplishments, remembering their important days, encouraging their successes, and quietly supporting them through every season of life. Her husband, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were the great treasures of her life.

Jane grew up in Crossville, Tennessee, and attended Maryville College, where she met Richard Harley Heischman, the man with whom she would build a life and family. Richard preceded her in death in 2022.

Their life together took them to many parts of the country, including Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Texas, and South Carolina, before they retired to Crossville in 2005. Wherever they lived, Jane created a home centered on family, faith, and care for others.

She began her working life as a teacher before devoting herself to raising four sons. That role required countless sacrifices, many of them likely unseen, and she met them with steadiness, humor, patience, and love. She raised four sons who knew they were supported, guided, and deeply loved, and the men they became were among the achievements of which she was most quietly proud.

In retirement, she volunteered through her church and at the Crossville library and took great joy in caring for the flowerbeds at the home where her parents had once lived.

Music was also an important part of Jane’s life. She played trombone, piano, and organ and served as a church organist while living in Hebron, Illinois. She and Richard also shared an affection for the music of Elvis Presley, a fond connection remembered by their children.

Jane’s Christian faith was central to her life. She grew up in the Baptist Church, later worshiped in the United Methodist Church, and eventually found a spiritual home in the Episcopal Church. She read her Bible devotional daily and lived her faith quietly through kindness, humility, compassion, and love. In her later years, she remained connected to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, watching services online and taking particular joy in seeing her son sing in the choir.

Family connections meant everything to Jane. She treasured even the simplest messages from her grandchildren and for years faithfully remembered birthdays and anniversaries, often rising early to be the first to send wishes and carefully chosen photographs to the family group chat.

Jane was preceded in death by her husband, Richard Harley Heischman, Sr.; her parents, Gladys Faulkner Bohanan and Earl Liston Bohanan, Sr.; her brother, Earl Liston “Bud” Bohanan, Jr., and his wife, Beverly; and her brother-in-law, Ed Bilbrey.

She is survived by her four sons, Richard H. Heischman, Jr. and his wife, Wendy; Michael Nelson Heischman and his wife, Stacey; Daniel Liston Heischman and his wife, Amy; and Jonathan Pearson Heischman and his partner, Doug Bogle.

She is also survived by her grandchildren, Andrew Heischman and his wife, Ashley; Adam Heischman and his wife, Jess; Abbie Heischman; Cole Heischman; Zach Heischman; Calvin Heischman; Haley Heischman; and Ella Jane Heischman; her great-grandchildren, Avery and Emma Jane; her sister, Carolyn Bilbrey; and extended family whom she dearly loved.

Her children sometimes joked about having been raised by their own “Dick and Jane,” a nod to the familiar storybooks of generations past. Their Richard and Jane wrote a story of their own—one of family, faith, music, gardens, sacrifice, resilience, and a lifetime of quietly loving the people around them.

Jane never asked to be the central character.

She simply became the heart of it.

No services are planned at this time.

Preferred memorials can be given to American Cancer Society and mailed to the Zwick & Jahn Funeral Home- 520 N. 2nd. St. Decatur, IN 46733

Arrangements by Zwick and Jahn Funeral Homes of Decatur, Indiana