Jane Elizabeth Avery Stefan, 86, of Gloucester, died Wednesday, June 29, 2011.

Nanny, as she was generally known to family, was born in Richmond, Va., on June 24, 1925 to the Rev. James Edward Avery and Lelia Anne Sweeney and was raised in various small Virginia towns as her father moved from church to church. She was employed by Sears Roebuck in Washington, D.C., when she met her husband, Arthur John Stefan of Queens, N.Y. Arthur Stefan, a retired police officer with the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, predeceased her on May 17, 2011. They were married Sept. 7, 1950 and lived in Lanham, Md., until 1973 when Arthur retired and they moved to Gloucester. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary last year.

She leaves to cherish her memory two daughters, Deborah Stefan Chapman and her husband David Chapman of Williamsburg, Vicki Stefan Parks and her husband John Parks of Newport News; three grandchildren, Jordan Arthur Mackenzie Chapman, Kenneth Edward Stover, and Hannah Elizabeth Chapman; a very special niece, Gloria German and her husband Milton German of Gloucester, and many other nieces, nephews and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; four sisters, Joyce Avery Trimble, Alice Avery Bailey, Pauline Avery Hudgins, and Frances Avery Duval, and her brother, Thomas Fitzhugh Avery.

The family received friends at the Wakefield Chapel of J.T. Morriss & Son Funeral Home (11414 General Mahone Hwy.) on Saturday, July 2, 2011, from 10:30-11 a.m. A graveside funeral service followed at 11:30 a.m. at Oakwood Cemetery, Surry, Va.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association, www.diabetes.org or 1701 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, Va. 22311.