Jane Fenwick Goodwin

Jane Fenwick Goodwin died peacefully at her home in Atlanta, GA on February 19, 2024. Miss Goodwin was born on October 2, 1933, in Hartford, CT to Francis Goodwin II and Janet Elizabeth Stanley. She was from old New England stock and was proudly a “Connecticut Yankee.” Her father was founder of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and also founded the Hartford insurance firm Goodwin, Loomis and Britton. Miss Goodwin was the stepdaughter of Léon Barzin, Conductor of the National Orchestral Association and the first Music Director and Principal Conductor of the New York Ballet. She and Mr. Barzin remained close until his death in 1999.

Miss Goodwin graduated from Miss Hewitt’s Classes in New York City in 1952, and was presented at the New York City Junior Assembly in 1953. After graduation, she took a position with Harper’s Bazaar. Miss Goodwin moved to New Orleans in 1954, where she supported Props Director Armando Agnini with the New Orleans Opera Company. She relocated to Washington, D.C. where she became a docent at the National Gallery of Art and worked with the Washington Opera Company. She then moved to Palm Beach, FL where she spent many happy years with the Palm Beach Opera Company where she was responsible for props. Her last move in 1982, was to Atlanta, GA. There she taught opera appreciation in the Emory University Senior Citizens Program. Part of her time was spent at her vacation home in Key West, FL.

Miss Goodwin was a member of the Society of Colonial Dames and the English-Speaking Union.

Miss Goodwin was introduced to conservative politics at an early age through her mother’s involvement with the America First Committee which sought to preserve American neutrality in opposition to the Roosevelt Administration’s efforts to involve the United States in World War II. Throughout her life, she was remarkable for her independent thinking; her indifference to public opinion; and her involvement in and support of American patriotic causes such as restriction of immigration, especially Third World immigration. During the Cold War, she and her mother received and helped refugees from the Soviet Union and its satellites with open hearts and open arms. The most notable of these refugees were the Count and Countess Andrassy of Hungary.

Miss Goodwin loved animals, was a staunch animal friend, and a supporter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other animal rescue groups.

She is survived by her cousins Lucy Stone McNeese of Paris, France; Gail Stanley of East Dennis, MA; several other cousins; her devoted friend Sandra Finley (to whom it is impossible to give sufficient thanks for her years of loving care and assistance during Miss Goodwin’s final illness); and many other friends.

A funeral service at a date to be announced will take place at Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford, CT where her grandfather, the Reverend James Goodwin, served as rector. At her request, the service will be conducted using the 1928 Prayer Book. A reception will follow at the Hartford Club where her father was a member.

At Miss Goodwin’s request, her body will be cremated, and her ashes will be buried in the Goodwin family plot adjacent to her father’s grave in Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford, CT.