Jane Dwyre Garton, who died Nov. 24 at the age of 77, was known for her work in advancing the cause of women and girls in the Fox Valley. Her colleagues and friends remember her for her activism, mentorship and ability to lead by lifting up others.
Dwyre Garton was born in Sheboygan, Wis. on Aug. 26, 1946, according to an obituary published by the Sheboygan Press. After growing up in Sheboygan, she went to University of Dayton, where she graduated with a journalism degree in 1968. She married her husband Tony the following year. After several moves, they eventually settled in Appleton in 1980.
Dwyre Garton remembered as a ‘trailblazer’ from earliest days in her career
Dwyre Garton’s earliest work was as a sports information officer at Lawrence’s communication offices in the mid-’70s, helping young women take advantage of the newly rolled out Title IX laws that allowed them to equally participate in sports, her obituary said. From there, she went on to journalism, where she was a “trailblazer,” said retired Post-Crescent staff writer Kathy Walsh Nufer, who met Dwyre Garton at the Post-Crescent during the late 1970s.
“In those days, not many women worked outside the home, and few were welcome in newsrooms,” Nufer said. Still, Dwyre Garton worked as a beat reporter and eventually became a weekend and features editor, where she had a special affinity for stories covering mental health issues, government, agriculture, and women and girls in sports.
Her passion for education led to her receiving her master’s degree in journalism, then to teaching journalism to students at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and what was then the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley.
