Virginia Jane Bacon

Jane Bacon passed away quietly at her home on Mill Branch Road Sunday, May 31. It was one of the few things she ever did quietly. She was an adoring wife, devoted mother, doting grandmother and great-grandmother, businesswoman, writer, sportswoman, and artist. If there is such a thing as a Renaissance Woman, it was Jane Bacon. Virginia Jane Hamlin was born September 13, 1931 to Milton and Elizabeth Hamlin in Petersburg, Virginia. After her parents’ divorce, she and her mother relocated to Hollywood, Florida where she attended Miami Tech High. At 14, a teacher invited her to join a bowling class. She did and kept on bowling for 80 years. At a local beach party, she met a dashing young track star from Fort Lauderdale High School named Earl Bacon. That chance meeting sparked a romance that was to last more than 75 years. She and Earl married March 31, 1951 soon after Earl’s enlistment in the Air Force. Their first child, Bobby, arrived April 16, 1954 shortly before Earl’s discharge and the couple moved to Gainesville, Florida where Earl completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration at the University of Florida. Their time in Gainesville also welcomed a second child, Phillip. Following graduation, Earl took a job in Jacksonville with the Travelers Insurance Company and the family grew again with the addition of their first daughter, Sandra. Earl’s duties with Travelers Insurance took him across North Florida and he eventually joined an agency in Tallahassee. A final relocation and one last child, Susan, came into the fold. The owner of the insurance agency with which Earl was employed soon departed. The business was reincorporated as the Earl Bacon Agency in 1963. Jane was a stockholder and corporate officer and became the company’s first receptionist, customer service representative, and bookkeeper. When the company grew large enough to hire staff, Jane left gainful employment, but remained an owner and the Corporate Secretary until the mid-1980’s when she relinquished those duties to her son, Bobby. Variations of her advertising campaigns are used by the Agency to this day. Jane was fearless. In the summer of 1969, she purchased a six-person canvas tent, six cots and six sleeping bags, threw them all into the back of a Chrysler Town and Country station wagon and set off with her four kids and another neighborhood boy for a summer-long camping trip across the country. They went everywhere – New Orleans, (2) The Alamo, Carlsbad Caverns, the Petrified Forest, Death Valley, Disneyland, Mount Rushmore. You’d think one such cross-country excursion with five kids between the ages of eight and 17 would be enough, but she did it three years in a row, always ending up at a farm owned by her uncle, John Hamlin, near Petersburg, Virginia. Although she “ain’t never went to no college,” Jane became an active supporter of Florida State University. She was one of the first women members of the FSU President’s Club and served as President of the Theater Patrons Association. The business she co-founded remained a Seminole Booster for more than 60 years. She was the third General Chairman of Springtime Tallahassee and wrote two cookbooks in support of the organization, the Cook’s Tour and Cook’s Tour II. The books contained recipes from Springtime members interspersed with historical vignettes she wrote about the Tallahassee community. In those early days of Springtime Tallahassee, sales of her cookbooks were a significant source of funding for the group. Her Springtime Tallahassee legend was secured when, adhering to a Ringling Circus theme set by the 21st Century Krewe, she rode a live elephant down Monroe Street in the parade – anything to promote the community she loved. Jane was a saltwater angler of some renown. In those pre-GPS days, she read the signs of wind, sky, and water to find fish and never came home empty-handed. She could walk to the water’s edge with a handful of chicken necks, a ball of twine, and a dipping net and, in short order, have enough blue crab to feed an army, which she often did. Her hospitality was so infectious, those who attended her crab boils would recall the experience fondly years after the event. On several occasions, she used her “excess” catch to put on a Seafood Dinner at her home, most often in support of the Rotary Foundation. Her fund-raising efforts on behalf of Rotary prompted the organization to recognize her as a Paul Harris Fellow, the Foundation’s highest honor. Her artistry in photography, oil paint, and stained glass also garnered recognition. But, nothing surpassed her custom decorated cakes which she made from scratch. Family and friends who received these edible masterpieces never forgot them. Their visual beauty was only exceeded by their tasty deliciousness. Jane was only the second woman voted into the Tallahassee Chapter of the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame. It is estimated she bowled more than 6,000 sanctioned games in her career. She served as President of a local women’s bowling league for 20 years and took a team to the state women’s bowling tournament every (3) year for decades. She even wrote a weekly column on bowling for the Tallahassee Democrat for several years. Jane Bacon still holds the record for the highest score ever bowled by a woman in the 90 and over age division at the Capital City Senior Games. Jane is survived by her husband, Earl, her four children, Bobby (Debbie), Phil (Nikki), Sandra Petrizzo (Bill), and Susan, ten grandchildren, and eleven great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a contribution to your favorite charity. A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 10 at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 211 North Monroe Street in Tallahassee. A reception will follow at the Lively Café located on the grounds of the church. Susie Mozolic of Bevis Funeral Home is assisting the Bacon family with their arrangements. (www.bevish.com or 850-385-2193)

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Virginia Jane Bacon

September 13, 1931 - May 31, 2026